Btch who Stole my Heart
by Nena-Daconte
Summary: She was an unstoppable force. He was an unmovable object. And now they are on their way to collide. It's a bad idea and it shouldn't have worked...but somehow it did. Meet Valery Rodriguez; terrible mother, worst girlfriend ever and mediocre friend. Still, Daryl finds impossible to stay away from her. Daryl/OC NOW BETA-ED
1. An unstoppable Force

**THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS STORY BEFORE READING:**

**1. ****My OC it's kind of a bitch. I really don't meant to write her that way, but I thought it would be different from the usual "sweet-nice and adorable" OC's out there. ****2. ****I plan to do this my best story yet, so updates might not be very frequent.****3. ****I'm still waiting on my results of med school first semester and I have a big test soon, so this might extend for a while.****4. ****The first chapter is sort of an introduction. And there's a lot of swearing. In Spanish and in English. And there will be lemons at some point, so consider yourself warned.****5. ****I like to add some quotes or lyrics that convey what the characters are feeling at the moment. Feel free to ignore them XD****6. ****Don't own Daryl. But sure as hell I'm trying to.**

The fact that Valery and Robbie were still alive could be attributed to a series of strange incidents that started long before Doomsday. The day the fever broke; Santiago and Valery were watching television as Loreen made breakfast. Robbie walked into the room, enjoying the smell of fried potatoes and coffee. She dragged her pink bunny slippers and took a seat next to her mom.. "I want to see Sponge Bob." She declared as her tiny head filled with brown curls dug into her mother's lap.

"Later, lil' monkey." Valery promised as she chipped away the blue polish of her nails with her front teeth. The man on the news had just announced that the cities were being evacuated. Images of collapsed roads and Marines organizing the evacuations filled the screen. Valery looked down at her daughter and gently pushed her to the kitchen "Go with Aunt Loreen." Valery ordered and Robbie obeyed her mother silently. "What are we going to do?" Valery asked to her brother.

Her voice didn't showed panic or anxiety. After all, Santiago always had a plan. As long as they stuck to that plan, it would be okay. Valery gave her older brother a long look. Santiago's skin was the same bronzed color as her sister's. Thiago ran a hand through his short military hair and sighted. He was wearing Nikes and baggy jeans that showed his fake Calvin Klein boxers. A sleeveless white shirt covered very little of his fully tattooed body. The green and blue dragon peeked from under the hem of his shirt and climbed to the side of his face. "Can't leave the city. Every cop in the city wants to catch me and neither you nor Robbie have papers._ La Migra_ is using these evacuations to catch illegals and send them back to Mexico."

Santiago's face paled when they showed another short clip on the plasma television. This was one that showed an old woman running after a kid. The old woman was wearing a worn out pink robe that had blood and mud stains all over. The quality of the video was poor, but it showed the emptiness of the woman's eyes. The child was Robbie's age and Valery felt her stomach sink when the woman grabbed the kid and bit into his neck. "_No mames…no mames…" _Santiago repeated as the woman's teeth kept digging into the boy's neck. When the woman's hands tore apart the kid's chest, both brothers cried out.

"What's going on?" Loreen's blonde head peeked form the kitchen with a curious look, but after noticing the terrified expressions of her husband and sister-in-law, she frowned and said to Robbie, "Come' on Roberta, I'll make you pancakes."

Santiago turned back to the television, but the video ended there, when the old woman got bored of eating the kid and turned her look to the camera man. The screen then went black, with a message in white letters that read, "_We're experiencing technical difficulties, please bla,bla,bla,bla…"_

"Pack your things, we're leaving the city." Santiago ordered with authority and Valery nodded. "I'm going to make some calls, okay? We leave in fifteen minutes."

Valery already knew what those calls were about. Santiago had to tell every addict in the city that he was going on a brief vacation. Then he had to tell the rest of the gang to freeze all the operations in process.

Valery sighed and went to the kitchen, where Robbie was eating pancakes and milk. Loreen watched with an amused expression that disappeared when she turned to Valery "We're going, then?" Loreen didn't wait for an answer before sighing and quickly spraying some water on the dirty dishes in the sink. "I'll go get my things."

That's why Santiago loved Loreen and that was probably why Valery liked her too. She never complained or whined. Valery and Loreen were soldiers, just like Robbie and Santiago. The first rule to belong to this family was keeping complains to the minimum and learning how to take orders without winning too much about it. That's just the way the brothers had been thought calmed Valery a little and then she spotted the bandage around Loreen's hand. "What happened?"

"An asshole tried to mug me on the way home yesterday. I think he must have been high as hell, because he tried to bite me." Loreen sighed again and then gave an awkward pat to Valery's back as she left the kitchen. She had insisted on moving to a better neighborhood, but Santiago wanted to keep his operation center in the middle of the Latin neighborhood. "Come on Robbie, let's pack up."

Fifteen minutes later, Santiago was waiting on the stairs next to Adriana. Valery frowned when she saw Adriana. After Robbie's dad died, Valery avoided his little sister for as long as he could. Adriana also seemed uncomfortable and she lowered her head when Valery passed her on her way down. Before they opened the door, Santiago cleared his throat. "If anything happens and we break apart, we'll meet at the Blackwell Prison."

"A prison?" Valery asked with disbelief, but she didn't question her brother's orders.

"I got some people in there that can help us get out of the country if things get ugly." He explained simply. Then, watching the four pairs of eyes staring at him with concern, he added, "We're survivors people, _guerreros._ We'll be just fine." With that, he hugged Loreen closer and Valery noticed how she placed her hands over her belly in a protective gesture.

After that, they opened the door and all hell broke loose.

The television signal never came back, Robbie never came back for the rag doll that she left on the counter of the kitchen, Loreen never managed to wash the dishes she left on the sink and Valery never told her brother how much she loved him. Only an hour after they left the apartment, a herd attacked the road and the group split.

Robbie and Valery.

Adriana.

Santiago and Loreen.

Almost nine months later, Valery still thought of them and she couldn't stop her heart from aching each time she did.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

PRESENT TIME

"Come on lil' monkey. Make your bed." Valery ordered with a tired voice. She had been watching Robbie sleeping and she could not help to think how much they had both changed in the last year. Robbie was almost ten now and her features of a little kid had begun shifting into those of a young girl. Her curly hair reached her waist now and she was taller, slimmer. Robbie frowned when she felt the sunlight hitting her eyes and blinking a few times before smiling.

"There's a zombie apocalypse and I still have to do my bed? This sucks." She puted and Valery chuckled. Robbie had matured a lot in the last months and since they were each other's only company, they had learned to get along better than they did before Doomsday.

As Valery leaned in to kiss Robbie's forehead, and she couldn't help but notice her own hair was a lot longer than before, now reaching her breasts. She resisted cutting it off because of the highlighted ends that Loreen had done for her before…well, before. She was also taller and she looked older. Her curvy body had lost a few pounds, but she was holding on just fine thanks to Steve and Melissa. The photograph of the older couple still rested on the night stand next to the bed and Valery hadn't thought of taking it down.

When they first found the house, they were a mess. Robbie had a fever and Valery had trouble holding onto the wheel of the van because her body was shivering so badly. They hadn't prepared for the winter and they were suffering the consequences just then. Finally Valery didn't manage to dodge a walker that had decided to stand in the middle of the road, and she ended up crashing the van against a nearby tree. It had been a lucky coincidence because it allowed them to notice a blue house, with a big sign on the entrance that read:

_"Tommy, we are at Fred's place. There's food and water inside and we're okay. We love you dearly and we hope you're okay. Diane didn't make it. Love, Steve and Melissa."_

Valery hoped that whoever Steve and Melissa were, they had made it to Fred's place okay. She also hoped that this Tommy was okay, because the supplies that (his parents? Grandparents? Brothers?) had left for him had kept Robbie and Valery alive for almost a year now. Now they were running out of food, but Valery had a plan.

A very bad and stupid plan.

She heard the engine on the road and yelled, "Robbie, get ready! They're here!" after that she picked up the two backpacks and hid them under the bed. She then went to the nursery room, where Robbie had already hidden inside the closet. "Are you scared?"

The little girl shook her head repeatedly and Valery smiled, "It'll be okay, _nena_." She then knelt down and gave her daughter a kiss on the head. "Stick to the plan and we'll be fine."

Valery closed the doors without giving Robbie a last look and opened the window. She climbed out of the house, resisting the urge to look down. She clung to the roof and then placed the mud and leaves they had prepared on the edge of the window to cover her tracks. Then she waited.

Eventually there was a caravan of vehicles parked outside the house and a group of people emerging from it. They looked at the sign in front of the house and as Valery had done so many months ago, they thought it was their salvation. Relief was written all over their faces and every member took a second to look at the house for a few minutes before coming in. They probably thought the place was filled with supplies, since it didn't look like it had been scavenged yet. There were five men in the group, only four that could really do some damage. One of them stood out because he was carrying a crossbow and his eyes seemed to capture every detail of the surroundings before following everybody into the house. The women (four of them in total), an old man and a kid stayed behind and Valery noticed one of the women was pregnant. _"Bingo. She's the one."_

She saw one of the men give the signal for the group to enter the house and then Robbie screaming. That was her signal to come down and start the plan.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

It had been hard for all of them. Running around, scraping the floor in search of crumbles of food, constantly looking over their shoulders… it was just too much. Rick was a good leader and he could see in the faces of his people that unless they had a break soon, they wouldn't last another summer. The winter had worn out everyone and they all seemed older and more miserable now that the temperature had finally rose. Rick's eyes met Daryl's and he knew the hunter had been thinking the same exact thing as they parked outside the sixth house of the day. They were running out of places to scavenge and even though most of the houses had been cleared before them, Rick didn't want to risk lives taking a look into the big supermarkets.

He gave a nod to Daryl, and he kicked the door open. That had been the reason they had chosen that house; if the looters had visited the place, they wouldn't have bothered to close the door after them. Apart from that detail, it was a regular country house, with a small porch, and light blue walls and white window frames. When they walked inside, there was another thing that surprised Rick: there was no smell of rotting flesh. The owners had left in a hurry as the knocked down photo frames and the clothes scattered around the floor revealed. but Apart from that the house seemed safe.

Daryl gave Rick a signal before he took off to explore the second floor of the house. T-dog and Glenn took over the kitchen, bathrooms, and closets of the house. Rick supervised the work and cleared the rest of the lower floor.

Daryl didn't discover anything extraordinary on the second floor. There was an open window on the main bedroom, but it looked like it had been like that for a while because mud and leaves covered the frame. There were three bedrooms. The main one was impeccable and someone had even bothered to make the bed before leaving. There was a picture of a couple smiling and the woman in the photograph was holding a little baby. Daryl turned the picture away before exploring the rest of the bedrooms. The second room was a guest room that seemed abandoned and the third one…the third one was a nursery room.

Daryl felt like an intruder inside the yellow walls, with bunnies and ponies staring back at him. There was an empty pink crib that gave the room a somber look, but it seemed pretty deserted. Since Sophia he had trouble thinking of other kids caught up on this messed up world and that was really affecting his ability to concentrate. "Daryl!" Rick's voice startled the hunter, who tripped with his foot but managed to stay up. "How are we doing up there?" Rick was using his nice cop voice and Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Clear!" he shouted back and then turned back to go downstairs. He knew that once the house had been declared clear, Rick would give the signal for Lori, Beth, Hershel and Carol to come in and rest for a few minutes while the rest of the men looked for food and supplies. He heard the sound of people coming into the house and decided to join the group downstairs.

Suddenly, he heard a noise that captured his attention. It was a weak weeping voice that came out from the white little closet next to the crib. Daryl had been reckless, and he had let his guard down. He had to find a way to stop thinking about Sophia, about kids in general. He wasn't used to the weight of the group on his shoulders now that Shane was gone and all this moving around had worn him out as much as anyone else on the camp, even if he tried not to let it show too muchThe sound grew louder and he aimed his crossbow. He didn't want to let Rick know he had made a mistake, so he decided to solve it on his own. He approached the closet doors carefully and kicked them open.

What he found made his heart skip a beat. A pair of living sparkling eyes were staring at him. "Rick!" Daryl yelled for help, not caring what they would think of him.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

The four men stared at the little girl not sure what to do next. She was curled up on the back of the closet and she looked to be about nine or ten years old. Rick sighed, wondering how to proceed. "Hello sweetheart." He knelt down to the girl's level, but she crawled away and started sobbing. "No! We're not going to hurt you!"

"_Déjenme sola! No me toquen!"_ the girl screamed back into something that Glenn recognized from his school days as Spanish.

"Anyone here speak Spanish?" Rick asked and Glenn hesitated. He had failed all the Spanish classes and he almost didn't graduate because Mrs. Garcia insisted his pronunciation was worse than Sofia Vergara's on Prozac. Finally, he kneeled next to Rick and tried out his luck

_"Tranquilo, nosotros no hacer daño." _The Little girl looked at Glenn suspiciously and then eyed Rick again. Glenn thought that maybe the girl would feel better if she knew Rick's former profession. Little kids were supposed to trust cops, right? "_El ser policia."_

Finally, the girl relaxed and took the hand that Glenn offered to get out of the closet. There, standing around the four men she seemed even younger. Wild bangs covered her eyes, with pink highlights in her hair and bronzed skin. She was wearing a scuba diving suit and a bunny-shaped backpack.

"Ask her name." Daryl suggested to Glenn, who nodded and tried really hard to remember Mrs. Garcia telling him to enunciate his "rr" properly.

"Como te llamas?" Glenn asked with a gentle voice and the girl wiped away her tears.

"Roberta." The girl answered while her eyes remained fixed on the wooden floor.

"Where are her parents?" T-dog asked, looking at the girl with compassion.

"Donde estan tu papa? Tu mama?" Glenn tried, but the girl began sobbing again.

"What the hell ya' did, China man?" Daryl accused as he slapped Glenn's head playfully, "Ya' made her cry!"

"I asked where her parents were!" Glenn defended himself, but Daryl growled.

"If she had any parents left, would she be hidin' in a fuckin' closet?" he questioned Glenn and then looked at the girl, who contemplated him with scared eyes. Daryl realized he was still pointing the crossbow at her and he lowered the weapon immediately. He felt the blush of embarrassment spread all over his face.

"Stop it. We need to figure out what to do with her." Rick declared somberly his voice tired. He figured that unless the girl feed through photosynthesis, she would only mean a new mouth to feed.. It was hard enough to protect Lori and Carl just to add another vulnerability to the group. He also knew that Daryl and Carol wouldn't let him abandon the girl with the memory of Sophia still fresh in their minds. Luckily, the problem solved itself when they heard a piecing scream coming from downstairs.

"Dad!" It was Carl's voice what startled Rick and he rushed downstairs, closely followed by the rest of the group. Once he reached the last step of the stairs he froze in place, causing T-dog to collide with his back. That caused a chain reaction that sent Glenn to knock over Daryl, who was followed by the little girl.

"Shit! Watch your steps Sushi boy!" Daryl started complaining but he stopped when he saw the scene on the lower floor of the house.

There was a young woman breathing pointing a gun at Lori, who cried silently as the rest of the group watched helplessly. Her body was curvy and she seemed to be better feed than anyone on Rick's group. Her clothes, a blue shirt and jeans, were impeccable and Daryl figured out she hadn't seen the woods in a long time. By the way she held her weapon, it was clear she knew how to use it. The girl turned to them and eyed the their young acquaintance.. Her lower lip was swollen and bleeding profusely.

Roberta spoke in clear English, surprising everyone and making Daryl jump back when he heard her voice, "What happened to you?"

"I fell off the fucking roof." The older girl answered with a roll of her eyes and Roberta seemed irritated.

"Try to get your act together Val! Act like an adult!" Roberta yelled desperately as the girl named Val sighed.

"I'll you what, next time I hide in the closet and you take the hostages, how's that?" Val said with another eye roll and then turned to the group of men on the stairs. "Which one of you is Rick?"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

**So what do you think? Do you like my OCs? More background coming away, I promise. Also, I tried to find some picture that matched how Valery looks in my head, but it's almost impossible :/ (Besides, looking on google for "girls with guns" brought some pretty disturbing images on) Still, I hope you enjoy and review.**

**If you are a beta or you know one, please speak up now ****J**


	2. An Unmovable Object

**I wanna thank all the people who added me to their alerts and follows, it means a lot. Also thanks to ****Leyshla Gisel, who owns the honor to be the first to review. I had make quite an effort to give some "layers" to my OC's so it might take a while before the spark between Daryl and Valery ignites, but trust me, it will be there! Keep reading and please, if someone wants to make me extra happy this Christmas, betas are welcomed…and cookies…and koalas. But mostly beta's.**

**I down't own TWD or else Daryl would be having 99% of dialogue time.**

Valery Rodriguez had been once beautiful. No one could dent she had a good body and she had worked her ass off after labor to make sure it stayed that way. The blue Aeropostale shirt and jeans were clean but worn out. Her hair felt into loose waves up to her waist, where the black color mixed up with rainbow colored highlights. Her soft bronzed face clearly showed her Latin heritage and her full lips and black deep eyes had been once tempting. But now, everything about her seem threatening and there was an aura of hardness that reduced the appeal her other features may had.

"I'm Rick." Rick said, surprised when his voice came out firm and loud. The moment he saw the gun pointing at Lori, his knees had gone week and everything inside him crumbled.

Lori had her eyes closed and she was praying silently. Carol was just inches behind her, doing the exact same thing. "I'm Valeria and I'll tell you what we're going to do." The girl sounded confidently and Rick wondered if she had ever done this before. The way she held the revolver, with her free hand securing the wrist of the hand holding the gun, revealed that she probably had some experience. "If you don't want me to shoot down your beach ball over here, you´ll do exactly as I say."

Rick tried to remember his former profession and it was the calm police voice of reason the one that spoke next, "Okay, nobody has to get hurt." Rick looked around, examining their options. Carl was downstairs, shielding Beth with his body. With a silent look, rick hoped to convey the idea of "no one being an hero today". He turned slowly and with a low hiss, he noticed all his best shooters were trapped on the stairs, with him blocking the way down and unable to move.

"We want half of your supplies." Valery declared firmly, but Rick shook his head slowly.

"We have nothing left after the winter." He confessed, telling only half of the truth. Their scavenging on houses had given results and they weren't completely lacking food nor water, but they couldn't afford to lose any of it.

"Then it's your lucky day, Rick. Half of nothing is still nothing." Valery said with a humorless smile. With a small nod, Daryl asked for permission to act, which Rick silently granted.

With a single graceful move, Daryl turned to the little girl behind him and lifted her with a single arm. With his free hand, he aimed the crossbow directly to her head. "Ya' shoot Lori and this lil' pretty thing gets her head blown off." Roberta struggled to breath below Daryl's strong arm over her throat, but Valery didn't give her a single look.

"Do it, you'll do me a favor." She said simply and Daryl hesitated. He had noticed the resemblance between the two girls and he hoped to appeal to some kind of emotional weakness on them, which was inexistent apparently. "She's nine. All she does is slowing me down."

"I'll do it." Daryl muttered, not really believing what he said. "I'll shoot her right here and right…"

His words were interrupted when Valery rolled her eyes and shot Roberta….missing only by a few inches. Daryl had curled down just in time to shield the little girl, who cried out scared. "You're wasting my time." Valery shot again, this time to the place between Lori's feet. The whole group gasped and a single tear left Lori's eye. "Next one goes right into her baby." Valery turned to face Rick and added, "Your call."

"Maggie, Beth, get the supplies and divide them." Rick ordered with a defeated voice. Every can worth its weight in gold now and he had been forced to give up half of his supplies. Still, when he looked at his terrified wife, the sacrifice seemed worthy. As Beth and Maggie clumsily prepared the bag they were going to give away, Valery seemed to relax.

"What were you before this all came down, Rick?" she asked casually, like if they were having coffee together instead of in the middle of a hostage situation.

"Cop." Rick answered simply, feeling his throat going dry.

Valery grinned with amusement, but still aimed at Lori, "What would this be? Single of double murder?" Rick's fist clenched until his knuckles were white and he frowned with contained anger. Valery shrugged and simply said, "Just curious."

"Here!" Maggie offered Valery the bag with half of the food and water, but Valery tilted her head to one side.

"Sorry, I got my hands full. Robbie however…" Valery didn't complete the phrase, but the attention turned to the little girl, who was sobbing quietly on Daryl's leg. He looked extremely uncomfortable when he gently pushed away the girl and she went downstairs to join Valery. Roberta took the bag that Maggie offered, whipping away the tears on her little face.

"You shot me." She complained with disbelief, but Valery just opened the door behind her.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She moved enough to let Robbie through the door and ordered. "Run. I'll meet you there."

The girl quietly obeyed and Rick clearly heard the jingle of the cans and water bottles going away. Valery gave Roberta a few minutes to walk away before relaxing a bit more and surprisingly, she even started acting nice. "When is your due date?" she asked Lori, who stammered a little before replying.

"Any day now." He voice was only another proof of how terrified she was.

Valeria's face softened as she said, "There are some mineral salts on the bathroom of the main room, and they are good for your feet. The showers work because they weren't connected to the main dam but to a secondary, wind- propelled one. The power it's still up sometimes because of the solar plaques but try not to waste it." Valery then smiled and her face turned a little more juvenile. "God bless Steve and Melissa and their hipster-hippie life style."

"Doesn't it embarrass you to take advantage of a pregnant woman?!" Carol suddenly busted into tears, fulminating Valery with her eyes. "We have kids on this group, for God's sake!" her voice sounded hysterical, but Valery didn't even blinked.

"I got my own children to look after, ma'am. Besides, she's a liability. You should have ditched her before she got this big." Valeria don't seem to care about the insensitiveness of her comments because she proceeded, "Besides, if it wasn't me another one would have stolen you. There had been several patrols around this place for months. Consider this a lesson."

She finally turned to Rick and nodded, "Have a nice day."

And with that, she disappeared.

-OoO….OoO-

"You shot me." Robbie repeated for the eleventh time in a row and this time, Valery actually takes the time to stop and kneel at her level before replying.

Roberta's face was a mess between the path of dried tears and the mud that seemed to find its way magically into her face. She had taken a bath just this morning, so it surprised Valery to realize how quickly she got dirty outside. It had been a few hours since they left the house but it was the first time Valery actually stopped to comfort her daughter. "I'm sorry, lil' monkey. I just…I've never done that before, okay? I'd never hurt you…" then she offered a soft smile and added, "…on purpose."

That made Robbie stop crying, but she was still frowning when they started to walk again. The sunlight was disappearing quickly, but Valery hoped to make it to the van before the night felt upon them. "I didn't want to leave. We were doing well there." Robbie complained as they walked. She said it most to herself, because her mother almost never replied to her complains.

This time, however she seemed to be doing a real effort. "I know! It's been so long since we've been out here." Valery was whispering now, even though she wasn't sure why. The growing shadows of the trees and the eyes of the animals (and God knows what else) gave the forest a somber look. The silence that surrounded them was just another reminder that they were on their own now. "But the food was running out and we have been talking about going to the Prison when the weather started improving."

The mention of the Blackwell Prison seemed to distract Robbie from her previous line of thinking because she took Valery's hand as they walked and her voice cheered up when she asked, "Do you think Thiago, Loreen and Adrian are already there waiting for us?"

"No." Valery answered simply, but when she noticed that Robbie's smile vanished, she quickly added, "We're gonna be the first to get there. Never in my life had my brother beat me on anything and I'm not gonna let him start now."

Roberta giggled and Valery smiled. The truth was that she hadn't give much thought to her family on the months they spent on the house. She had started forgetting how protective Santiago's eyes seemed the last time they saw each other; or the bite mark on Loreen's hand. Sometimes Valeria wondered if her brother had been wise enough to put his wife to rest or if he had succumbed himself to his own weakness. One way or another, Valery always found her heart breaking when she remembered how Loreen protected the invisible burden she was carrying on her belly.

Had she managed to tell Thiago before dying?

How many months she had?

Would it be a boy or a girl?

Looking down to her own daughter, Valery concluded she would probably never know. Maybe this way was better. Finally the old crashed van came into view. Valery had figured they could spent the night there and figure out their next step on the morning. The weight of the supplies Rick had (generously) given them granted her a false sense of comfort.

When she saw the dusty ruins of the van, Valeria couldn't help to feel stupid. She had never been a good driver but it was kind of ironic to have crash her vehicle on a failed attempt not to hit a person who was not even alive to begin with. "Thiago would be very angry with you..." Roberta started, but she was cut abruptly when a man tackled her mother to the floor. Robbie assimilated the situation quickly and she tried to help her mother, but a pair of strong arms lifted her. As T-dog held the little girl tightly, Daryl tried to subdue Valery, who was giving quite a fight. "Mami!" The terrified screaming of her daughter renewed Valery' s strengths and she punched Daryl straight in the jaw and attempted to make a run towards Roberta. Daryl recovered quickly and tackled Valery again, this time managing to straddle her and placed his arm over her neck, strangling her.

Valery fought as much as she could, but the lack of oxygen was wearing her efforts down. She was barely aware of Robbie screaming on the background and her nails dogged deeper into Daryl's strong arms. He wasn't enjoying the show either. The look on Valery's eyes as the life abandoned her made Daryl's heart twist. A part of him wanted to kill her right then for threatening the people he considered his family, but another couldn't help to notice how small and fragile her body was under his or the way her eyes filled with desperation tears.

"Back off, Daryl" Rick had to be the voice of reason as usual. Daryl obeyed immediately, leaving Valery gasping and sobbing on the humid soil.

_"Hijo de puta..."_ She spited out with hatred and in return Daryl kicked her rib cage, causing her to cry out in pain. The sound caused his walls to crumble a bit, especially when the young girl's body curled up with pain. He had been trying so bad to be a better man on the last months...

... However, his old ways always came back. " If ya' goin' to insult me, do it in English, bitch"

Valery gasped for air a few times before managing to sit up. Then he eyed Daryl and he felt something twirl on his insides when he saw the hate blacken her eyes. Slowly, she enunciated, "I said, son...of...a...bitch"

Daryl drawled his leg to kick her again, but since she made no attempt to cover her body or protect herself, he decided against it. _"Girl, ya´ need to learn to pick yar fights"_ he thought as the young woman looked at hip defiantly.

Rick cleared his throat as he approached both of them. The look on his face revealed that he was physically disgusted by the idea of hurting anyone, but there was no disapproval to Daryl's actions either. He picked the black bag with the supplies and kneeled next to Valery. Abruptly, he pulled her hair back and whispered, "I'm taking this back" then he forcefully turned her head to T-dog, who was holding Robbie tightly, "You're lucky I've decided to leave her out of this."

With a humorless laugh, Valery muttered, "Might as well kill her. You're leaving us here with nothing to eat or to drink. No weapons. Thank you, my merciful king."

Rick's voice became lower as he said, "Lucky you, then. Half of nothing it's still nothing'" he quoted her before making a signal to T-dog to let go of Roberta, who made no effort to approach her mother and just stood there with her eyes fixed on the floor.

"How did you find us?" Valery questioned as she fought back the tears of pain. With a smirk, Rick signaled Daryl and said, "We have a damn good tracker with us." Valeria cursed her luck and the blue eye hunter, who lowered his look when she met hers.

Then Rick let go of Valery's head and started walking away. T-dog followed him closely, but Daryl stayed behind. He realized it was true; the girls wouldn't make it without supplies. He considered the fact that Valery had only taken half of their stuff when she might have taken it all. He decided to extend her the same courtesy and called, "Rick, wait up." Daryl took the back from Rick's shoulder and tossed a couple cans to them.

And that was the thing that triggered chaos.

See, both Thiago and Valeria had the tendency to get into fights that they couldn't win. It wasn't rare for Santiago to come home with a black eye or to see scratches on Valeria's arms; both resulting of fights with older kids at school. Besides that, and as Daryl had already noticed, they didn't knew when to stop fighting. But the worst thing was that they had a personal issue with people's charity. Coming from a poor family like theirs, there was something insulting on taking other people's pity.

Daryl didn't know it at that time but what he thought was an act of kindness resulted on a major insult for Valeria. Daryl's act was to her the crowning jewel of her humiliation as she remembered the way her mother used to toss the remains of food to the stray dogs waiting behind the market. The memory of those dogs fighting each other for a piece of meat snapped something inside Val. She ignored Roberta's scream and launched towards Daryl, tossing kicks and jabs that hit the air mostly. Daryl reacted out of instinct, connecting his fist against her lip, immediately knocking her out.

"Shit, Daryl!" Rick hissed as he stared at the motionless body of the girl. Roberta kneeled next to her mother, sobbing and trying to wake her up desperately.  
Daryl contemplated his right hand with disbelief, repulsed by his actions. "Let's go." Rick ordered firmly, but doubt extended all over his face.

"Rick, the sunlight will be gone in a few hours. She can't protect the lil' girl" T-dog pointed out, but Rick shook his head. "Let's take the little girl." T-dog insisted, but Rick eyed him harshly.

"She pulled a gun on my family, man. That's where my line is." Rick then turned to Daryl and repeated, "Let's go"

As they walked away and the night fell upon them, Daryl couldn't erase Roberta's desperate screaming. He closes his eyes, tried to forget and kept walking.


	3. Collision

**Thanks to FanFicGirl10 for reviewing, I'm glad you like Valery. Also to Leyshla Gisel, I hadn't really planned Daryl hitting Val, but it seemed right, so I'm glad you liked it.**

**The song on the beginning of this chapter for me describes Robbie's POV and the second song (in Spanish) is one that my grandma sings all the time, so this was kind of a tribute to her.**

**This story has had a great response and all your reviews make it worthy, so thank u :3**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"**I believe in the sun, even though it slowly rises****  
****I believe in you, even without realizing****  
****I believe in the rain, though i see no cloud in the sky****  
****I believe in truth, even though everybody lie.."******

**The Dewarists, "I believe"**

The first sound that Robbie made to this world was more of a war scream than a baby cry. It marked the way she would live the rest of her life. Her sole birth had been an act of defiance, the only thing powerful enough to bring Valeria from the darkness that had swallowed her after Robbie's dad was killed. The contractions had shaken Valeria's world when it threatened to crumble all together. It was like Robbie was pushing both her little body and her mother's to the light. Her first breath scared away the shades that had consumed Valeria for weeks. She was a fighter and this was just another round of the fight.

It was about thirteen minutes and a half after the men retired when Robbie finally managed to stop crying. _"No van a volver."_ The voice of her uncle Santiago sounded on her head and Roberta realized he was right; those men weren't coming back. On the past, Roberta had always avoided the big tattooed man but now she struggled to remember every single word he ever said to her. After all, he was the toughest person she knew. But the voice didn't came back to comfort her. Roberta then took off her bunny back and placed it underneath her mother's head. She also tenderly whipped away the trail of blood that drained from her mouth with the back of her hand. The coldness of Valery's skin gave her the shivers.

She wished she could do more, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to. She just sat there wrapping her hands around her legs and waited for the storm to pass.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"You left them there?" Carol asked with disbelief after hearing the full story. She had struggled to get the truth out of Daryl, because everything she asked was answered either with a growl or with a monosyllable. He even avoided looking at her and getting dazzled by her "super mom powers" just to make him feel a worst human being than he already was.

"Rick was right; the older girl was a threat." Daryl said, not dully convinced of what he was saying.

"What about the little girl? Why didn't you bring her back?" Carol did her best not to sound judgmental, but just one look to the outside of the house made her shrug.

"Imagine ya' wake up after taking a beat just to found out the same men who took ya' took yar lil' girl. Can't tell which is worse." Daryl explained. Even if it didn't sounded like the best option to leave someone to their own luck, knocked down unconscious in the floor with no weapons, he still thought it was better than having someone in the group killed because they had have a soft spot for little girls crying. "We did the right thing."

"No, you didn't." Carol said without thinking, but when Daryl turned to eye her harshly, she quickly added, "There was no right thing to do in the situation. The world is not black and white anymore" she affectionately placed her hand on Daryl's shoulder and said, "The sooner you and Rick get that, you'll feel better."

"Go to sleep. We'll leave early on the morning." Daryl recommended. The house had been a huge disappointment for everyone. It had too many windows and doors to secure, it had no weapons or food and for two persons it might be just fine, but for ten it was sort of claustrophobic. Rick decided they would continue searching for a place to stay in the morning.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Si nos dejan, nos vamos a querer toda la vida…"

***If they allow us, We're going to love each other for a lifetime***

"Si nos dejan, nos vamos a vivir a un nuevo mundo"

***If they allow us, We're going to live in a new world***

Between flashes of bright lights, Valery could see her grandma dancing in the kitchen as she cooked and her high pitched voice singing, made her feel better. Her white hair felt up to her waist and she turned to smile to her granddaughter. Then she was gone.

Another memory took her place, one of a rainy day; when her grandma died. Quickly followed by the day when Santiago and she crossed the border; that day was also raining. Next it was a happy memory. The figure of Leon illuminated by the dim streetlights as they boys played soccer at night. The face of Loreen cheering for Santiago and the kiss that Leon had gave Valery just after scoring. Another bittersweet memory, the day Leon found out she was pregnant. He cried, then he shouted her and finally he hugged her. Leon and her picking out baby names. The car pulling over and a man shooting Leon three times before disappearing into the night.

Adriana yelling at her, slapping her. Loreen holding her hand and then the darkness. The pain. A cry.

Roberta crying. That was the strongest memory. It seemed almost real. Valery wanted to go an sooth her, tell her everything was going to be okay. She tried to move, but everything hurt. She tried to speak, but her voice was almost a whisper. Roberta cried again and this time, it was not a hallucination. Valery finally managed to open her eyes, only to see a rotten face trying to chew Roberta's face next to her.

Adrenaline kicked in immediately. Valery crawled away to exam the scene. The walker, once a fat man with a Simpson's T-shirt that was too small for him was trying to bite Robbie. His strong arms managed to grip her shoulders but luckily the scuba diving suit was too thick for his nails to pierce it. His mouth on the other side, dangerously opened and closed near Robbie's face, who cried out for help. Valery looked around for a weapon, finding none. It was hard for her to remain standing and her vision was blurry, but finally she found a stick strong enough to make a threat. She tested its weight on her hands before finally kicking the walker's body aside. Her force was not enough to make any harm, but it captured the attention of the walker, who turned to face her. Valery was repulsed when she found out his right eye was missing but it was also a miracle because all she had to do was stick the branch into his eyes and then push it until she heard the brain being squeezed. The walker fell aside lifelessly with his mouth permanently fixed on a surprised expression.

Robbie quickly stood up and hugged her mother's legs, but Valery pushed her aside roughly. Still staggering she made her way to the crashed van and opened the driver's door, sitting and pulling Robbie inside. Tired to dead and with a killer headache, Valery drifted off to sleep, but Roberta's voice cut in. "You're not supposed to sleep when you have a concussion."

Valery opened her eyes and stared at her daughter skeptically, "And how would you know that?"

"I saw it on discovery channel with Loreen." She said shyly as she curled up on the co-pilot seat. "Can you sing to me?"

"Why?" Valery asked with the last inch of patience on her body

"Just because you can't sleep doesn't mean I can." Robbie answered firmly before closing her eyes. Valery snorted, wondering when Robbie had changed so much.

"Yo creo podemos ver el nuevo amanecer de un nuevo dia" ***I think we can see the new dawn of a new day**

Valery started singing her grandma's song and Robbie quickly fell asleep. Gently, Valery removed a loose strand of hair that had felt over Roberta's eyes. "_She looks so much like Leon."_ She tough before singing again. "Yo pienso que tu y yo, podemos ser felices todavía" ***I think you and I we can still be happy***

With that last sentence, she finally felt asleep.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery didn't slept more than a few hours before waking up abruptly. She looked next to her and saw that her daughter was still asleep. With a sight, she realized they would have to get moving soon. Valery walked out of the van and followed the path to the road. Daylight made her realize that the considerable damage on the vehicle would keep it from moving. A new vehicle, food, water, weapons…the list of things kept growing larger on her mind as she walked; overwhelming her completely. She knew Robbie was in vulnerable while asleep and that she really shouldn't have left her alone. Still, she needed a break to think of her next step. Before doomsday, Loreen always helped out with Roberta, making things easier for her. Valery was struggling to restrain the tears when she heard the sound of voices near the road.

She was standing on the end of a downhill curve, allowing her to remain hidden as she watched a black truck stopping and four men coming out of it. They were dressed like hunters, but there was something on their eyes that scared Valery.

"Cans, water bottles, sleeping bags…" a young man listed as he jumped out of the truck. His curly hair and cocky grin made Valery shiver. "Those guys were quite a catch."

"Fuck the supplies, man." Another one placed his hand over the shoulder of his friend as he added. "Those girls knew how to fuck." The gigantic blonde then smiled and shook his head as he said, "too bad they only lasted a week."

"Because you beat the shit out of them, Rocky." An older man cut in, clearly irritated by the blonde's comment. "They were what..? Fourteen? Sixteen? You could have been more delicate with them."

Valery's fists clenched with anger. She connected the dots pretty soon and felt repulsed by the men. Then she took another look at their rifles and knifes and decided she was more scared than angry at that point. Even the hunter with blue eyes that had punched her seemed like an angel in comparison to them.

"You got your share too, Ralph. Don't play saint with me." Rocky defended himself and then looked at the other guy who was leaning next to the truck. "This sick bastard was the one slicing their throats."

Valery decided she had heard enough and ran back to the van as a plan shaped up in her mind. If those men advanced further and discover the truck, she would be wishing the hunter had finished the job last night. Her plan was simple as hell, but it depended on Rick's good heart and on her good timing…

Thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong, she opened the door of the van.

"_Roberta párate rápido, carajo._**" **Valery abruptly woke up her daughter by shaking her shoulder. Robbie opened her eyes and looked around with confusion, but Valery quickly pulled her out of the vehicle. "I have a plan." she whispered to her daughter with a conspiracy tone.

Robbie just yawned and replied, "Your plans suck."

"Shhhh!" Valery hissed as she kneeled. "How fast can you run?"

"Fast." Roberta simply said. Before this she had been captain of the soccer team and she also did athletism.

Valery grinned as she asked, "Can you run for about ten seconds and climb to a three?"

"I guess." Roberta replied, frightened by the glow on her mother's look. "What for? What about the man who hit you? What if he finds me and hits me?"

"He won´t." Valery was sure of her words. She had slept until the sun rise and then approached the house carefully. She saw the group packing to leave, but she calculated it would be a few hours until they left. Then she went back to the van, thinking of how she would take her revenge. The answer presented itself when she heard an engine coming down the road. "Take the bunny backpack. Do you still have those lasers? The Max Steel?"

"Yes." Roberta had taken the laser from Mrs. Lavonn's house the last time they were there as well as Bobby's favorite toy once he died on the woods. "Why?" she demanded again.

"Light it up when you hear I call your name. Give me the toy" She hugged Robbie tightly before whispering, "Point them where I point my gun, okay?" Robbie nodded, still unconvinced and Valery ordered, "Okay go."

Valery bit her lip when she saw her daughter disappearing into the trees. The plan had to work. If it doesn't then at least Rick and his men would be killed. The tough gave her some comfort as she popped the van's cover and revealed the complicated mechanism inside. She had always been a terrible driver and Leon had to teach her the basics over and over. That made the alarm circuit easy to spot. She took a deep breath and connected it, causing a scandalous noise to fill the air. The sound of vehicles parking confirmed the first stage of her plan had worked. Now she ran towards the woods, making sure to drop the van Daryl had given them on a visible spot. Finally she climbed to a three and waited. The eyes of the hunter played on the back of her mind and a wolfish smile shaped on her lips. He was going to go down.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl was the first to rush into the woods when the alarm when off. He thought that maybe Valeria had woken up and was asking for help. Or maybe it was Roberta…one way or another, he rushed without thinking twice. Rick followed him, thinking that the noise would attract the walkers but also hoping to find the girls alive. He had given his actions a second thought during the night and decided he had done the wrong choice. Maybe he could talk to Valery and sort things out. He would even offer to take the little girl in because she didn't seemed to excited about having to look after her. He ran after Daryl for a few minutes, but the noise suddenly died off. Daryl turned to eye hi quizzically, but Rick had no idea what to do.

Daryl then noticed the panic on Rick's face ad he spotted something behind his back and turned quickly to face four men pointing guns at them. "Look at this, boys. It's a nice surprise to see you gentleman." Ralph talked fisrt, taking a step forward and evaluating the situation. Daryl attempted to retrieve the crossbow hanging from his back, but Ralph shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He pointed his head to the man next to him and said, "Rocky here has the best aim I had ever seen and you're quite an easy target."

"No need to prove that." Rick stated calmly as he raised his hands to show he was unharmed. "My name is Rick and this is Daryl."

Ralph nodded relaxed and then asked, "And why have you decided to have a walk on this lovely day, boys?"

"Huntin'." Daryl quickly answered, eyeing each member of the group carefully. "Been tracin' a deer for weeks."

"A deer? Well, it is a little early in the season, but I guess if you're lucky…" Ralph started but then his eyes hardened, "You seem to be hanging on quite fine, though. You have a place near? Food maybe?"

Rick cursed mentally. It was the second time in less than 24 hours that someone pointed at him with a gun and he wondered if the events might be related or if it was just crappy luck. "Neh, we've been strugglin' for weeks. If ya´got somethin' better maybe we could join ya'." Daryl suggested, clearly trying to scare the hunters away.

The blonde one eyed him sarcastically and replied, "We're not taking white trash for the moment, asshole." Then he tilted his head to Ralph and said, "I think they're lying."

"I agree, Rocky." Ralph said solemnly and then sighted, "What do you suggest we do about it?"

The younger one who stood behind Ralph shyly suggested, "We could follow their tracks."

"Or we could shoot one and hope the other one spill the beans." The other guy suggested, earning tug grins from the rest of his gang. Daryl turned to Rick, but he didn't look worried.

"If you do that, the rest of our group will hear the shot and come to get you." Rick warned with that calmed police voice that Daryl found so irritating most of the time.

"I thought you said you were alone." Ralph corrected him and then suggested, "I bet you do have a group, but not the kind that we should be scared of. Children, older people…"

"Maybe a fine piece of tail you're willing to share." Rocky suggested vulgarly as he stared at Daryl. "We met a pair of young ladies near the road and have a good time with them."

Daryl's heart sunk. He thought Rocky was talking of Valery and Roberta and he quickly snapped, "What ya' did to them asshole? If ya' touched the lil´girl I'm gonna…" he strated walking towards the blond, but Rick placed a hand on his chest to restrain him.

"I can't tell you what I did to them, but they sure were begging for more when I was done." Rocky concluded with a wolfish grin.

"Ya' son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill ya'! Did ya' hear me?!" Daryl struggled to free himself from Rick, but a sudden soft laugh caused everyone to shut up.

"Daryl, you're concern is quite touching." A familiar feminine voice whispered from an higher spot in the treed and for an unknown reason, Daryl felt relieved.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

**What you think about that?! I promise there will be more Daryl/ Valery on the next chapter but I think it's important to make them bound in some way. I mean, I will get them to the prison eventually but at this point I think it's quite hard for them to accept someone new into the group, don't you think? Please review, you truly make me feel like a flying unicorn when you do **


	4. IMPORTANT NOTE

Quick note for my readers. I FOUND A BETA! I'm so happy, because this story certainly is good but could be a lot better. Anyway, thanks to minorshan for the help!

So that creates a dilema for me. I have to wait until she reads and corrects the first chapters before publishing anything else. I think the wait will be worthy, but it will be up to you to judge that. So my next update might take a while. Hopefully no longer than 2 weeks or so.

As always, thanks to my 2 loyal reviewers, Valery and me thank u for your support.

And thanks to PeaceLoveUnicorns94 for faving this story (I think your user name is awesome!)

And to Miyu the Fangirl, Bewildered for adding my to their alerts and all the people who read this, just THANK YOU for the support


	5. Sparkle

**So, I had mixed feelings about this chapter. See, minorshan and I are having a few problems with emails and stuff, so she hasn't been able to start working on the early chapters. I promised I would wait for her, but this chapter really pleased me and I wanted to share it with you! I hope that eventually we catch up with my beta, but in the meanwhile (if you don't mind a few spelling mistakes) here's the next chapter! **

**Also, I hope you enjoy this chapter ****Leyshla Gisel, sorry I got your hopes high with the last update.**

**And Bewildered, thanks a lot for your review, see this is exactly what I wanted to do with Valery, create a full character and not just some silly pet for Daryl. I think on this chapter, Robbie's toughts help us understand her situation better.**

**And I swear there will be walkers on the next chapter!**

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

"Now, I really don't mind if you shoot Daryl, after all, the bastard did hit me. However, if you kill them then we won't be able to finish our talk from last night..." Valery said with a grin and Daryl's eyes narrowed when he heard Valeria's words. The younger boy hesitated, but Ralph remained emotionless.

"Your three and we are four." He stated confidently, but his hands clenched to his shotgun nervously.

"Nice, you know how to count." Valery laughed softly and continued, "Now let's make some algebra okay? See, from there you have a chance of seventy percent of shooting me. Now from here, I have about ninety five. Do your math, sweetheart."

"Sounds like you trust your aim, girl." Ralph grinned, trying to localize the source of the voice. Each time he got Valery to talk, he was able to narrow the possibilities. "I have here the Kansas State Archery champion and a couple of my best hunters. I would say that evens out the odds."

"Maybe, but it's kind of impossible to miss a shot with a sniper's rifle." As she said so, she lighten up the laser and directed it to Ralph's chest. The man looked down to the red dot on his shirt and smiled.

"You just gave away you position, girl." As Ralph spoke, Rocky adjusted his aim to point to the tree where Valery was. "If you shoot me, my men will come and get you." Then Ralph turned to stare at Daryl, "We will kill her. It's a promise."

"Maybe not." Rocky interrupted with a cocky grin. Daryl clenched his fist to his sides and his eyes glowed with rage. Rick tightened the grip around him, sensing his body tensing. "What does she looks like, Daryl?" he intentionally dragged his name with a fake sweet voice.

Daryl fixed his eyes on the ground, but Rocky insisted, "Answer or else I shot her down and find out myself."

"Young, about thirty." Daryl started, trying to remember how Valery looked like. An insulted snort sounded and a shoe came flying down and hit Daryl's head. It was a black Converse tennis. "What the fuck is wrong with ya', fuckin´ bitch?!" Daryl yelled as he caressed the place where he had been hit.

"I'm twenty five, asshole." Valeria's offended voice brought a grin into Daryl's face. She was twenty five? Roberta was about ten, right? Shit she must have been almost a girl when she gave birth to her…Daryl's mind wondered but a scoff from Rocky brought him back to Earth.

"Short, long hair up to her waist. She has this Muppet colorful shit on her hair." Another shoe came flying next to Daryl's head, but he managed to dodge it.

"Looks like she needs some domestication." Rocky smiled and Daryl repressed his anger to the best of his ability. "When I'm done with her, she will learn to respect her man." Then a childlike grin illuminated his face. "You know, if she's hot, you might buy her some time."

Daryl couldn't help it; he blushed furiously. He looked up to Rick, but he gave him a _"I don't have a clue what to do"_ look. "So? Is she hot?" Rocky insisted and the hunters stared at Daryl with amused looks. Valery was silent, leaning more to take a better look at Daryl. The branch creaked under her weight, but she wanted to hear. Daryl debated internally. A part of him wanted to strangle Valery himself, but the look on Rocky's eyes told him he had greater plans for her and the thought simply repulsed him. So he decided to take one for the team.

"Smoking hot. Curves, lots of curves." Daryl blurted out as he felt his face redden with embarrassment. "Kind of wild, I guess." The last sentence brought a grin to his face and a small laugh from Valery. "She's beautiful, I guess."

There was an awkward silence after that broke by Valery's sight. "Well boys, it has been lovely and an incredible bust to my self-esteem, but I'm afraid this has to end. See, I have Roberta here with me."

Daryl wondered what the hell would a ten year old do for them…

…but then he realized the hunters didn't know Roberta was ten.

"She was trained by the Israelite Army and she was a diplomatic on vacations when the disease stroked. Robbie!" A second red dot appeared on Rocky's chest. "She's also a damn good shooter."

"Why didn't you mention it before?" Ralph insinuated, but Valery just laughed.

"Well, Daryl was saying such nice things about me…" Valeria then recovered her seriousness. As she noted, "I think the odds are even now."

Valeria noticed the two younger men hesitated, but something about Rocky's and Ralph's eyes made very clear they wouldn't retreat so easily. Carefully, she retrieved the Max Steel toy. It was an old model; one that had a string on his back that made it talk. She pulled the string and hoped for the best.

"_Delta Patrol calling in, Delta patrol calling in."_ The toy called loud enough for everyone to hear. Its voice sounded like a recording but Valery hoped that they would believe it came from a walkie-talkie. _"We localized the target."_

"Yes, Leon, come in." Valery replied as he saw Rick's eyes widened with surprise. "Boys, look like my men found your truck down the road. Black, no plates, with tons of supplies on the back. Wouldn't it be a shame if it burned to ashes?"

That cut the deal. The men lowered their weapons and with a sight Ralph turned around as he said, "Have a good day boys."Before he ended the phrase a shot sounded and Rocky dropped dead with a bullet on his brain. Giving no time for reactions, Valery shot again and the silent guy who had killed the girls was dead in a few seconds. Ralph turned around for an explanation, but Rick and Daryl were already pointing at him with their weapons. "See guys, I couldn't let them just walk away after what they did to those girls. Maybe this will be a remainder for you to treat the ladies right next time you meet one."

Ralph understood he had lost this round and cautiously walked away followed by the younger boy. Rick sighted in relief as he walked to the trees. He looked up to see Valery smiling. "So those sniper rifles?" he teased and in reply Valeria pointed at his face with one of the lasers. Shielding himself from the light, Rick chuckled.

"I want down! Now!" a familiar voice cried out, and Rick gave Valery a smile as he said, "I think our Israelite ambassador needs help." Rick was more relaxed now, but he wondered why did Valery helped them. He walked away to help Roberta climb down while Daryl approached the tree.

"Delta Patrol?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow quizzically. Max Steel landed next to his feet and he picked up the toy to examine it.

"I believe his next line says something about Russian missiles, so it was a lucky strike it all ended well." Valery explained and Daryl grinned.

"Are ya' planning to come down today?" he pointed out as he looked up. Watching her smiling at him, with her colorful hair falling loosely around her face and her body lying in display over the branch, Daryl realized she was indeed beautiful. She held her arms and he accepted her request of help, providing his strong arms for her to lean in as she climbed down. Daryl had miscalculated the distance, because when Valeria climbed down his hands slipped up to the sides of her breasts and her face was inches away from his. He moved his hands to her back and they simply stayed there, enjoying the warm feeling spreading through his body. Valeria blushed and bit her lip nervously. "Oh shit!" Daryl muttered when he noticed the purple mark extending below her right eye and the deep cut on her lip.

"Yeah, you got a nice jab." She responded with a playfully grin. Then her eyes lightened with an amused sparkle as she lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. Slowly, she outlined the trace of a scratch she had managed to give him the night before. Daryl flinched at the feeling of her warm skin against his, but as soon as it started, it also vanished.

Valeria shook herself free from Daryl's embrace and walked towards Rick, "Now, let's get down to business, okay?"

Rick lifted his eyebrows as he nodded. "Okay." Then he added with a calmed voice, "I'm not apologizing for last night. If you ever pull a gun on my family again, I'll make sure to kill you." Rick's voice wasn't threatening at all, but he seemed quite serious.

"Understood. Same goes your way if you ever lay hands on my daughter." Valery talked with a low sweet voice. Daryl noticed she seemed amused by the whole situation and that bothered him a little. "I'll even apologize to your wife. But I did save your lives."

"And I suspect you want something in return." Rick anticipated and Valery smiled. "Care to let us know why?"

"The day me and my brother split he talked about a prison nearby. He said he knew some guys that could help us." Valeria tried to sound casual but the mere mention of her brother brought a sting of pain to her heart.

"What makes ya' think he made it?" Daryl interrupted the conversation, desperate to make someone notice his presence. Valery stared at him like he was an idiot.

"I don't think he made it. I think you and I are looking for the same thing." Valeria then turned to Rick and stated sincerely, "I want a place where I don't have to look over my shoulder every fifteen seconds. I want to sleep through the night without waking up abruptly to check if Robbie is alive. I want a place to call home. The prison could be safe, but I can't secure it on my own."

There were a few minutes of tense silence before Rick lifted his eyes. Daryl though he saw something he hadn´t seen in a long time on the cop´s face: hope. Rick had been talking about finding a more permanent setting for a while now and the possibility just seemed sealed the deal with a handshake and a smile illuminated Valeria's face. "You can ride with us, but your kid is your responsibility and you will work as hard as everyone else." Rick warned her, but her smile didn't faltered.

"_She should smile more often."_ Daryl thought, noticing how her features softened just for a few minutes.

The walk back to the house was silent, which gave Daryl time to think. For some reason he was glad that Rick had agreed to take the girls in, but he couldn't really tell why. Valery walked ahead of him, following Rick. Not once did she turned back to see him and that disappointed him terribly without hi knowing why. Roberta did looked back a few times and each time she gave the hunter a terrified look and speeded up the pace to be close to her mother. Daryl knew Robbie's fear was justified. After all, the image of unconscious Valery still haunted him.

When they got home, Lori was already on the entrance and her face widened with fear when she saw Valery. Rick took her aside to explain the situation but all eyes remained fixed on the girl as they walked into the house. They didn't had much time before Rick announced they would leave, giving a quick summary of what happened on the woods. When he mentioned the armed men, Carol eyed Daryl with concern, but he looked away. After the short speech, everyone went to the vehicles. Daryl started his bike, but Rick approached him quickly.

"I need to ask you a favor." He whispered with a conspiracy tone and Daryl repressed the urge to smile. He still hadn't got used to being second in command. "I don't trust her. I need you to keep an eye on her, okay?"

Daryl silently nodded, but Rick continued, "I know she was bluffing when she said she didn't care about Roberta. As long as we have her, Valery will stick around."

"So, ya're saying that…" Daryl started, but without giving time to end his phrase, Rick signaled Valery.

"Valery, you ride with Daryl and give him directions!" he ordered and then gave an apologizing smirk to his friend, who only growled in response.

Valery jogged to Daryl after whispering something to Roberta before she climbed into Glenn's car. He couldn't help to stare at her boobs bouncing off as she ran. He looked away quickly when he calculated she was close enough to notice. Giving him a light nod, she climbed on the back of the bike. As the rest of the group started the engines, she hugged his back.

Daryl tried not to give much thought to the nice feeling of her arms tightly pressed against his abs, or the warm of her chest pressed against his back. It all became too much to ignore when she leaned in so close that Daryl could feel her warm breath caressing his neck.

"You know…" she whispered into his ear and he tried his best not to shiver. "…I haven't forgotten the fact that you knocked me down."

Daryl smirked as he replied without bothering to look at her, "Y'a deserved that."

"I would sleep with one eye open if I were you." She threatened and then pressed her lips softly against his neck.

Daryl was so surprised that he accelerated without warning her first, causing her to slide back and tighten the grip around his abdomen. The bike roared as it fly away, quickly earning advantage over the rest of the caravan. Thinking of what would Rick said to him, Daryl slowed down the pace. Eventually he regained control and Valeria made no further threats or comments as they moved excepting a few directions.

Daryl started wondering if he had imagined the feeling of her lips against his skin.

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

Robbie hated people. She hadn't always did, but since the apocalypse, it seemed like everyone had became more irritant. For example, her mother. Why couldn't she be like those mothers that snuggle their kids and tell them how beautiful and special they are every five seconds? Scratch that off, five seconds might be too much. But it would be nice to hear some compliments every once in a while. She thought that maybe Rick and his group would be a good thing, because her mom wouldn't be so overwhelmed to be taking care of her on her own, but it clearly wasn't working like that.

Before climbing into Daryl's back, her mom had whispered to her, "Watch out for my signal, _nena._" Which basically meant that whenever things got bad or whenever Valeria felt like they were bad ( it wasn't always the same thing) they would fleet out. So, no relaxing for Robbie.

On top of that she had to ride next to Carol, who kept looking at her like she was the last Twinkie on Earth and keep giving her this little smiles every thirty seconds. There was also Carl, who looked like he hadn't seen other kid in ages and also Daryl, who scared Robbie to death. Sighting she pressed her face against the window. "Are you okay, Robbie?" Lori asked with concern from the front seat. She had kept a cautious distance with the new girls, but there was something on Roberta's eyes that cracked her walls of defense. She just looked so sad.

A pair of black eyes fixed on Lori´s and a shy voice replied, "Just tired."

"Here." Lori struggled to turn back to hand Roberta a silver envelope. She took it and observed it for a few minutes. "Chocolate always makes everything better. We found it on a gas station a few weeks ago, but I think it's okay."

Roberta said nothing as she unwrapped the chocolate, but when she took the first bite a little smile appeared on her face. Lori smiled herself and even Rick grinned, but he didn't take his eyes from the road. Roberta laid her head on the window and let it bump against the glass at a steady rhythm. Suddenly, a bike came to her sight. Daryl had slowed down briefly, but now he regained the lead. The bike rode a few meters ahead and her mother turned back to glance at the car where Robbie was riding.

For a second, it all reminded Robbie of an old picture Loreen had showed to her once. It showed her mom when she was fifteen, a few months before she got pregnant. She was on the back of a bike and she was looking back just like she was doing now. Her colorful hair floated around her face, but you could tell that she was smiling and waving to the person who took the picture. There was another person, a guy riding the bike. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a black helmet that covered his face.

Roberta kind of whished he didn't wore it, because she wondered what her dad looked like. He had died a month before her birth, and her mom had never showed her any photos. He must have been a nice guy if he made her mom smile that way. Slowly, Roberta felt asleep with her hand still clenching the chocolate bar.

-OooO-OooO-OoO-OooO-

**So I hope that wasn't so bad without Beta help. If you think I should wait for her, just let me know. Also, an idea has started shaping on my mind, but its to early to tell if it will eventually find its way to paper. I'll keep you posted on that. Review and make me smile **


	6. Close Call

**I'm really excited about this chapter for two reasons. One is the awesome support that my two faithful readers, ****Leyshla Gisel (You gave me the idea for more Rick/Valery interaction, I think it would be kind of cool to make our hunter jealous) and FanFicGirl10 (I'm planning on Roberta to be the link between her mother and the rest of the group and Carol seems like such a sweet person! Carl definitely needs to remember what being a kid is like**** ) **

**Also, thanks to maawwge for following the story and to Aoi Nami-chan**

**For her review. (I'm glad you like the direction we´re going. It's taking me more time than what I thought it would take, but we´re getting there **** )And I got another review, from **letmefallasleep just before I published this chapter (I'm glad I got your attention Valery would kick the ass of all those cheesy OCs )

**Second, thanks to Generalfoley. The advice and pointers he gave me will definitely make this story better.**

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

"How far are we?" Rick approached Valery just the second she got off the bike.

"About an hour." Valeria calculated. The truth was that she though they had been going in circles for a while now, but that was because apparently no one wanted to live around a prison, causing the landscape to be a continuous succession of fields.

"Y'a said that an hour ago." Daryl growled next to her, but Valeria just rolled her eyes.

"There's a gas station ahead. We should hit it before going on." Rick explained and Valeria nodded. "Get some food, water…"

"Robbie is coming." She declared and Rick just looked at her surprised. Without waiting for permission, Valeria went to get her daughter.

"Are ya' kiddin´? Ya' can't let her take that lil' girl…" Daryl protested with a low voice, but Rick stopped him with a firm gesture. The sheriff looked tired and Daryl wondered how many hours of sleep he had last night. Probably none because the man was like a freaking robot. Daryl then calculated how much it would take to break him; he concluded probably not that much.

"It's not of our business and even if I agree with you there's nothing like a parenthood manual of hell that tells you how to raise kids on the middle of the apocalypse." Rick gave Daryl a half grin, but Daryl just sighted. "Believe me, I know. We just have to improvise on the go and try to keep them alive. Everything else just seems…" the voice of Rick trailed off when he saw Lori getting down of the car holding Roberta's hand.

Valery slowed down her pace and simply stood there staring at Lori. They were holding some kind of staring contest until Valery broke the eye contact as she ordered something to Robbie. The little girl walked to her mother quickly, giving a last look to the pregnant woman before walking away. Rick started heading towards his wife, but Daryl suddenly said, "Hey, I'm volunteering." When he met Rick's skeptical eyes, he explained, "Someone got to save their asses."

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

Valeria was getting impatient. She began biting her nails as they waited for Maggie and Glenn to give them the signal. They rest of the parking lot looked deserted, but Valery noticed Daryl's eyes scanned the area several times just to make sure. She had been surprised when he volunteered for the trip and more surprised when she saw the crossbow he carried with him. He looked like a character from a comic book. The thought brought a smile to her mouth.

Daryl looked down and noticed Valery was staring at him with an amused look. "What the hell ya're lookin' at?"

"Why a crossbow?" Valery changed the subject quickly, and Daryl's features changed to surprise for a split second and back to their usual hostility.

"Why the hell no?" then he pointed down at her weapon and added, "Ya' got a machete"

"Fair enough." Valery agreed as she tested the weapon on her hands. Her gun had only one bullet on the chamber and she already had reserved it for something. It made her kind of sad because the gun had been Thiago's and it made her feel somehow protected, but the machete was more effective. She had stolen it from one of the dead hunters, the one that apparently killed the young girls. Her stomach revolted a little when she noticed the trails of dried blood on it, but she didn't had time to clean it.

"Why does everybody have a weapon but me?" Roberta protested, making both adults to look down at her.

"Because we don't have chocolate all around our mouths." Valery pointed out, grinning as Roberta whipped away the chocolate quickly.

The discussion was interrupted by Glenn signaling them from the back of the small building. It was one of those classic gas stations with pumps, a little store and bathrooms. The red sign showed a smiley blue car that observed Valery intensely as she walked through the parking lot. Glenn and Maggie had already swiped through the store, making sure there were no nasty surprises inside. As Glenn and Maggie loaded the truck, Valery, Daryl and Robbie entered the store. It was midday and the orange light of the outside illuminated the insane pretty well, but large shadows still frightened Roberta, who glued to her mother's legs.

"Okay, what's do you see?" Valery asked, feeling stupid herself. Daryl was looking at her curiously so she tried to pretend she knew what she was doing.

"There's glass on the floor and there aren't many things on the shelves. We're not the first ones to come in." The thought brought a new wave of fear to Robbie, but she was as good actress as her mom. Valery hadn't noticed any of these things which brought a wave of pride for her daughter to flutter her heart.

"Okay, good." Valery was unsure how to continue, so she looked around nervously. "Now we should…you should…"

"Get the fridges, take the water bottles and Gatorades." Daryl ordered and Robbie nodded obediently, disappearing after a half-empty shelves. When Daryl looked back, Valery was looking at him. "What?"

"I got it." She responded defensively as she passed him. On her way, she "accidentally" bumped his shoulder with hers.

"Yeah, sure." Daryl snorted as he watched Valery checking the expiration dates of some fries and candy. "I notice the stammerin´and doubtin´. Tell me, is that some parenting technique they teach back in yar coutry?" Valery snorted but she didn't reply. Daryl took a can of peaches and examined it. Finally he tossed it aside with a growl. "The only shit left is fries and soup. I'm fuckin´ tired of fries and soup." His voice faltered a little when Valery bended down to grab the can he had discarded, giving him a nice view of her ass. He blushed when she turned back and he had to pretend to be very interested in scratching something on his hand.

"Last meal, what would you have?" she questioned him with a half grin. She had decided to pull her hair up in a ponytail and Daryl could see a drop of sweat rolling down her neck and getting lost on the neckline of her Aeropostale shirt.

"A nice steak and ice-cold beer." Daryl replied automatically and Valery smiled.

"Simple pleasures for a simple man." She turned back to her work and left Daryl wondering if she meant it on a good or a bad way.

"Yeah? Got anything better?" Daryl asked back, slightly offended. He placed the crossbow on his back and walked to Valery, who smiled.

"Roast Leg of Lamb with Honey Orange Glaze and Port and Mint Dressing. A Glass of Merlot and…." Her face lightened with the memory of her grandma cooking traditional Mexican food. "…_arroz con leche_ as dessert." She finally said with a triumph smile.

"Pretty fancy for a wet back like you." Daryl snapped without thinking, but she didn't look offended. She just continued putting things on the back.

"My sister- in-law always saw those stupid cooking shows. She wanted to be a chef but the only thing she ever did was cooking for my brother's scumbag friends." Valery talked more with herself than to Daryl, but he still listened every word.

"Ya´lived with yar brother?" he asked and Valery simply nodded.

"My brother, his wife, Leon, Robbie, and me." Valery smirked as she picked up a Pringles can. Daryl was about to ask who Leon was when she continued talking, "You know, the real problem is that all the good food is gone. No meat, no veggies, no milk…"

Daryl leaned and took the Pringles can. He opened and took one before handing the can back. "We could start a farm on the prison. And I could get ya' some meat if ya´like." He meant he could get meat for everybody, not just her, but the smile Valery gave him filled him up with a strange wave of pride.

"Really?" she asked with hope on her eyes and he felt his chest was about to explode with loftiness as he tried not to sound to desperate.

"Yeah. I mean, no Lamb Leg honey shit, but it will do." Daryl said with a sufficient tone and Valery laughed softly. She looked up to him, leaning on the shelf next to her and thought he looked kind of hot. Sure, his hair was a mess and he could use a shave. The rest was okay thought. His tanned skin gave his eyes a much brighter glow and he kept licking his lips, making it hard for Valery to focus. What she liked about him the most were his arms. They seem like sculpted by some very good artist, with every muscle outlined perfectly.

She shielded her face from the light to take a better look and saw the edges of his mouth curving up. "Ya' staring."

"Bullshit…" she replied with a blush, but a noise interrupted them. It came from the back of the store, where the fridges stood.

Valery raced to them in no time followed closely by Daryl. They found Robbie surrounded by water bottles and staring blankly at the fridges. When Valery followed the trail of her look, she took a step back, hitting Daryl's chest. _"Madre de Dios..."_ she whispered.

The walker stared at them through the glass, hitting and scratching the doors of the fridge. The scratch marks on the glass revealed that the poor man had been trapped on the fridge for months. He had only a few strands of blonde hair left attached to his decayed scalp that exhibited some missing parts of skin, where the skull showed. He had already been skinny while he lived, but now the dried flesh glued to his bones giving a macabre spectacle. The worn out red best he was wearing had a tag attached that read, _"Hello, my name is…Tommy" _He had been the cashier of the store once, Valery deduced. She gave a look to Robbie, who was still shaking.

"_Okay, escuchamé bien, mami_." She called Robbie's attention but the little girl barely gave her an acknowledge nod. Valeria then placed the machete on her little hand and then walked to the fridge.

"What the hell are ya' doing?" Daryl asked as he took a step forward, but Valeria pointed at the glass doors.

She knocked them slightly, causing the walker to press its jaw against the glass, trying to get a bit. "See, it's okay. He can't open it."

Daryl relaxed a bit, but he still reached for his crossbow. He tried to figure out what Valery was trying to do, but he had no time to make any guess before she yanked the door open. It was a sliding door and she only opened it a few inches. The walker tried to come out, but he could only get out his head before Valery closed the door again. She held it firmly, leaving the head of the geek outside the fridge. "Don't do that Val! Kill him!" Robbie shouted as she attempted to give the machete back to her mother.

She didn't take it. Instead, she smiled. "No, you kill him."

Robbie's face paled as she eyed the monster that had appeared into so many shapes on her daily nightmares. She back away shaking her head and offering Valery the machete.

"Just kill the damn thing, Val!" Daryl complained as he raised his crossbow.

Valery frowned. She was struggling to keep the door half way open, but there was something on Roberta's fear that she found slightly annoying. "Come on, you can do it." She tried again, but Robbie didn't responded. With an eye roll, she took one of her arms and placed in front of the walkers mouth.

"Valery!" both Daryl and Robbie screamed, but she ignored both.

"Come on! Kill it!" she ordered. "What would happen if I die? You need to learn to kill them, Rob! You need to grow up, for God's sake!" Valery approached her arm a few more inches to the freak's mouth. Nothing.

Finally Valery decided to risk it all and opened the door completely. The geek tackled her and she felt to the ground. She heard Robbie screaming and Daryl cursing before hitting the floor. For second everything was silent. She felt the geek's mouth next to her neck and she was about to start fighting him when she realized it was dead. Confused, she pushed the body of the freak away, revealing the bolt incrusted on the back of his skull. Valery stood up quickly and tried to whip away the pieces of dead skin stick to her clothes. When she looked around, Robbie was gone.

"Where…?" she started asking, but she was interrupted when Daryl forcefully grabbed her arm and started dragging her out of the store. "Let go!" she ordered, but her request was ignored and Daryl's grip became painfully tight. She repressed a squeak when Daryl forced her to walk faster. His eyes were sparking with anger and his mouth was a fine line. He walked so quickly that Valery struggled to keep his pace. Finally they reached the truck, where Glenn and Maggie were trying to figure out why Robbie was curled up on the backseat sobbing silently.

When they reached the truck, Daryl threw into the front seat the bag that they had put together, and then opened the back door. Valery attempted to get in, but suddenly Daryl smashed the door closed and turned to face her. She was truly scared by the look of his eyes. "Never do that again, did ya' hear me?" he shouted, making Glenn and Maggie exchange concerned looks.

Valery decided not to reveal how scared she was so she crossed her arms around her chest and took a step towards Daryl. "What? Risking my life or teaching my daughter a lesson?" she asked sarcastically as his breath became heavier.

"Both!" he screamed with a weird strangled voice. There were such a mix of feelings on her eyes Valery couldn't be sure why he was so upset. Instead of explaining tough, he quickly turned back, opened the door and jumped inside. Valery was so perplexed that she simply stood there for a few seconds until he pulled her inside violently, "What the fuck are ya' waiting for?"

Those were the last words spoken for the rest of the trip.

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

Robbie didn't cry often and when she did, she was very discrete about it. So when Carol entered the tent, she didn't even noticed the little girl. She started folding the clothes she and Beth had washed today and then she heard the sobbing. Surprised, she kneeled next to Robbie and softly patted her back. The girl turned around and Carol felt her heard aching when she noticed the puffy eyes and the messy hair.

"I'm sorry…I…could I sleep here?" Robbie asked politely as she tried to wipe off her tears.

"You had a bad day, huh?" Carol tried to fix Robbie's hair, but her rebel curls resisted. "Do you want to talk about it, sweetheart?"

Robbie nodded slowly and told Carol what had happened today. When she got to the part where Daryl had dragged out her mom to the truck, she broke down to tears. "Now Daryl is mad with Valery and all because of me!"

"No, come here." Carol hugged Roberta tightly and she felt her tears wetting her shirt. She smiled as she said, "I know Daryl can be pretty scary but I'm sure he was only worried for your mom."

"Really?" Robbie asked, finally managing to restrain her tears.

"Sure, he's a fluffy ball of fur beneath the tough looks, trust me." Carol reassured and Robbie giggled. Carol thought her laugh sounded just like Sophia's, but she quickly pushed the idea aside. Then Robbie frowned and she said, "Can you do me a favor?"

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl was counting his bolts sitting by the fireplace. He was well aware of how many did he owned, but he still counted them again. One was missing; the one resting inside the boy from the gas station. Daryl hated himself for being so sloppy with his precious ammo. Something had snapped inside him when he saw the walker tackling down Valery and he wasn't sure what it was.

Maybe it was the terrified look on Robbie's face as her mom teased her. It reminded him of his own face whenever Merle declared he was going to teach something to him. Merle's pedagogical tactics were a little bit…cruel. For example, when he learned how to use his crossbow Merle threw him an empty beer can for every target he missed. He had a pink tiny scar just above his eyebrow to remind him of the lesson. He didn't want Robbie to learn that way.

Another part had simply freaked out when he saw how close the teeth of the creature had been from Valery's neck. She certainly deserved it, but Daryl couldn't see her get bitten. He tried to convince himself the reason behind that was only the guilt he felt for hitting her, but something didn't clicked. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. He turned to see Carol holding Robbie's hand.

"Go on." Carol ordered gently as a smile brightened up her face. Daryl just stared with confusion as Robbie approached him cautiously. When she was close enough, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek, which made Daryl blush furiously.

"Thanks for saving Valery." Roberta declared with her eyes fixed to the ground. She was just as uncomfortable as him.

"Er..mm…it's okay." Daryl mumbled as he tried to avoid Carol's amused eyes. Then he fixed his eyes on Robbie and declared with severity, "But yar mom is right, ya' should learn how to kill walkers, just in case."

Robbie looked at him with a mixed expression of confusion and amusement. "Oh, I know how to kill them, I just don't want to."

And with that statement, Robbie walked back to Carol, leaving Daryl to think about her words.

-OoO-OooO-OoO-OoO-

**So, I got a great idea for some Rick/OC interaction (just friends, though) and I was planning to put it on this chapter, but it was already too long! Also, any ideas on why does Robbie refuse to kill the geeks?**


	7. Making Friends

**So I was happy to hear some of your theories, and some of you almost nailed. I wanted to thank you for your participation some way that would be original and I figure I could include some Valery/Daryl hot moment in this chapter, so enjoy!**

**If you like it, thank to ****Leyshla Gisel, FanFicGirl10**** and ****letmefallasleep because they are the ones that inspired this! Also, Marron 5 is excellent for writing as I discovered while typing this up.**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

_**But if I fall for you, I'll never recover**__**  
**__**If I fall for you, I'll never be the same**___

_**Love somebody, Maroon**__**5**_

"You look miserable." Rick pointed out as he took a seat next to Valery. The first lights of sunlight reflected on her face when she turned to him with a light smile.

"Yeah, well, I pissed off my guardian dog yesterday." Valery joked with a humorless laugh as she looked down. Beth had kindly offer to lend her one of her shirts, but they didn't quite fitted her so she took one of Rick's checkered shirts. She had tied a knot to the shirt just below her boobs, giving a nice view of her flat stomach.

"That shirt suits you better than it does to me." Rick joked, but Valery simply grinned. She was not in the mood for laughing. "Daryl can be a little rough sometimes…"

Valeria gave him a smile and Rick smiled too, "_Perro que ladra no muerde_, my grandma used to say." Watching Rick's perplexed expression she explained, "Barking dogs seldom bite? Something like that?"

Rick chuckled, but his face was dead serious when he said, "He told me what happened yesterday." Rick sighted and ran his hand trough his hair like whenever h was worried. Valery seemed amused by the gesture but he stated, "It was a little cruel, don't you think?"

"Maybe." Valery sighted. She didn't often recognize her mistakes, but rick seemed like a person that wouldn't judge her. "But I want to make Robbie strong. I want her to be ready in case something happens to me, you know?"

Rick remembered the way Carl used to act before the winter and he nodded. "I used to think the same, but trust me; you don't have to be so thought on them. You don't have to force them to grow up, because this world is already doing a pretty good job doing that." Then Rick sighted and he smiled sadly as he admitted, "Sometimes I wished Carl could keep some of his innocence, but…he just…can't."

"Shit, I wish I could be more like you!" Valery smiled as she threw her hands to the air and then wrapped them around her knees. "You actually sound like you know what you're doing!"

Rick chuckled and shook his head as he admitted, "I had my share of mistakes, I guarantee you that." Then there was a nostalgic look on his eyes as he cautiously suggested, "It must be hard to do it on your own."

Valery knew what Rick was trying to say but she didn't felt the need to put up her walls like usually. "I wasn't alone, though. My brother supported us and his wife, Loreen, took care of Robbie most of the time."

"What about her father?" Rick was curious but he didn't wanted to push the subject.

Valeria sighted, "Leon was killed a month before Robbie was born. We were walking back home when a black car slowed down next to us. Three shots; two to the chest one to the head." Valeria noticed that she felt absolutely nothing when she talked about that day. Leon and his dead seemed like a very faint memory and it felt like it had been ages since it happened.

"I'm sorry." Rick whispered and when Valeria saw him, she could see the sincerity on his eyes.

Valery placed her hand on Rick's cheek as she tried to lighten the mood, "It's okay, Rick. It was a long time ago."

The moment was interrupted by the sound of a dozen squirrels landing right next to where they were seating. They jumped back, startled by the noise and looked up to see a very pissed off Daryl. "There's yar meat." He pointed out before walking away.

He had only caught the last phrases of the conversation. He had decided to make an early expedition and while he hunted all he could think about was how he would apologize to Valery. It was the second time he had used his physical against her and the though bothered him immensely. When he got the squirrels he remembered the conversation they had on the store and figured it would be a nice way to apologize. He was walking back to camp, feeling pretty good when he heard the whispers and the chuckles. He was surprised someone would be awake at that time of the day and more surprised when he saw Valery and Rick laughing and talking. Then she placed her hand on his cheek and whispered something. Daryl felt anger rising through his chest as he threw them the squirrels to them and walked away. He didn't stop when he heard Rick calling him or when he listened to Valery's footsteps behind him.

It wasn't until she touched his shoulder and said, "Daryl, wait!"

When Daryl turned around he noticed her face was flustered, her hair felt loose around her shoulders and her breathing was accelerated. He lowered his look and realized she was wearing Rick's shirt. That made his hands clench into fists. "Ya' know, it's none of my business who ya' fucking with, but Lori deserves better than this shit!" he muttered and Valery's jaw dropped.

She doubted for a few seconds before finally smirking sufficiently and asking, "And why do you think that I would fuck Rick?"

"Oh, c'mon! Ya' had your hands all over him!" Daryl shouted but Valeria wasn't intimidated at all. She was intrigued to discover why the redneck seemed so angry.

"So?" she asked with a mischievous look that only made Daryl get angrier. He tossed his crossbow away and grabbed the hem of the shirt she was wearing.

"Ya're wearing his clothes." He pointed out as he let go of her shirt, causing her to stumble back a little. She sighted, laughed softly and then ordered, "Take off your shirt Daryl."

Daryl was about to yell her again when he actually processed what she had said. He shook his head a few times before asking with confusion, "What?"

"Take…" Valery untied the knot on Rick's shirt and started working on the upper buttons, enjoying the shocked look on Daryl's face. "…your shirt…" she finished unbuttoning the shirt and opened widely, raveling a worn out black bra that fitted her loosely. The morning they had left the apartment she had no clean clothes so she borrowed the bra from Loreen. Daryl wanted to look away but he couldn't. He was marveled by the way her breathing raised and lowered her breasts. "…off." She concluded, sliding the shirt off and tossing it aside.

She stood there for a few minutes, running all her body issues over and over inside her head. She wasn't near the level of confidence she tried to appear, but she knew that this would be the only way to end up the stupid argument. Daryl's eyes were still fixed on her naked torso and she began feeling embarrassed. "_What the hell was I thinking? Maybe he just was looking after Lori and not really jealous! Maybe he thinks I'm a slut! Maybe he thinks I'm ugly…"_ thoughts started piling on her mind as the seconds passed and she unconsciously wrapped her hands around her breast to shield herself from Daryl's glaze.

Daryl was irritated by the gesture. Since the first inches of skin had showed, all the fury had abandoned his body. The vision in front of him just took his breath away. She was so beautiful, so perfect. Her eyes were fixed on the ground shyly and deep inside, Daryl enjoyed to see his presence had that effect on her. When she tried to cover her body, he growled. He took a step forward and grabbed her hands gently, pulling them to her sides. Her breasts were now touching his chest and he could feel her gasping.

He lowered his head to her ear and whispered with the sweetest voice he was capable of, "Don't do that, sweetheart. Let me see."

He then felt her hands working on the buttons of his own shirt. Her hands were shaking and he decided to step back and help her. As the fabric revealed his body, Valery couldn't help but to be impressed. Every single muscle was lightly outlined on his bronzed skin. His abs were well defined and there was a line on his hips that got lost where his jeans begun and made her blush furiously. "Ya're staring." He said with an amused look as he grinned.

Valery looked up and raised an eyebrow as she said, "I'm not the only one."

Chuckling, Daryl approached her and placed the sleeveless blue shirt over her shoulders. She didn't break the eye contact as she put it on and tied a knot on it. When she was done, she did a slow turn and asked, "How do I look?"

"Looks better than Rick's." Daryl pointed out, trying not to look too impressed.

Valeria laughed, quickly recovering control of herself. She picked up Rick's shirt and started walking away as she said, "Just for the record, I'm not sleeping with Rick and I'm definitely not sleeping with you."

"We'll see." Daryl whispered as he took his crossbow and followed her back to the camp. When they got there, all eyes were on them. Valeria ignored the curious looks and tossed Rick his shirt, ignoring the question written on his face. Daryl tried to walk to his bike as quick as possible but it was impossible to ignore Beth and Maggie gossiping and chuckling. He blushed as he quickly took out a caqui shirt and put it on. Valeria seemed not to care that much for public opinion because she went straight to the car where Robbie was already seating next to Carol. Ignoring the woman next to her daughter, Valeria talked to her daughter.

"Sorry I pushed you like that. I just want to make sure you're ready for when the time comes." Valery sounded sincere, so Robbie turned to face her.

She looked older when she declared, "I'm ready Valery." Valery eyed her skeptically and she repeated, "I am."

"Okay." Valery said, still not convinced. "I tell you what, I feel so bad for what happened yesterday that I'm gonna answer three questions you have about your dad."

Robbie's face lightened, but she tried not to be overwhelmed by her enthusiasm as she selected the first question. "What kind of music he liked?"

"He loved _Agustín Lara's_ songs because he said they had the most romantic lyrics ever but he also listened to _Calle 13_ and rap music" Robbie's head immediately lifted and her eyes widened as she heard Valeria rambling about her father. She usually avoided the topic, so Robbie made an effort to remember every word she said.

"Was he excited about me?" Robbie wasn't sure if she would like the answer to that question, but she had to know.

Valery hesitated before answering, "Not at the beginning. We were just too young and we were scared. He and your uncle Thiago had a big fight because he threatened to leave us." Valery saw the light on her daughter's eyes disappearing and she quickly added. "He just panicked, _nena_. After a while he started getting excited, too. He even picked up your name and all that shit. You're named after her mother, who died of cancer."

Robbie seemed to be assimilating the news well and she asked her last question on a voice barely stronger than a whisper, "Why did they killed him?"

"He…he just…" Valery wasn't sure how to talk about the subject. She wanted to tell the truth to Robbie but she didn't want to ruin the image of her father. "He did some bad things when he worked for your uncle. When Thiago found out I was pregnant he forced him out of business but I guess you never really leave behind the things you did." Valeria then cupped Robbie's face and forced her to look up. "He was a good man, Roberta."

"Then why…?"Robbie started, but Valery chuckled.

"I said three questions."

Robbie remained in silence for a few minutes, going over the information she had just received. She hadn't known her father was killed. After thinking for a few minutes, she finally looked up to see her mom and smiled, "Is that your way to say you're sorry, Val?"

"Yep." Valeria said with a smile. Then she noticed Roberta's hair was pulled up in a ponytail and decorated with a blue ribbon. She touched the girly detail as if it was going to bit her.

"Carol did it." Roberta explained and Carol gave a small smile to Valery.

"Looks nice." Valeria answered, still ignoring Carol. She looked around and saw Daryl had already climbed to the bike. "Got to go, _nena._ Are we cool?"

"Yes." Robbie replied with a smile as she saw her mother walk away.

Valery jogged to the bike, feeling better now that she had made up with the only two people she liked in camp. She climbed next to Daryl, who didn't say anything as he started the bike.

They arrived to the prison in no time and Valery jumped out of the bike as soon as it stopped. She looked back to see Rick with a sufficient grin as he examined the surroundings. The prison was certainly a good place to settle, but the number of walkers made Rick hesitate. Finally he sighted and ordered. "Everyone, take a weapon."

They went though the first fence without problems, creating a weak but effective barrier between the walkers outside and the walkers inside the exterior yard. However, none of them was too happy by being in the middle of an undead sandwich. It was quickly settled how they would proceed. "Lori, Beth, Hershel, Carl and Robbie stay here and try to attract the walkers to the fence. The rest of you, follow me."

Robbie turned to see her mom with a scared look. "No vayas, mama." Roberta didn't want her mom to go away, but Valery just waved off her concerns and kissed her temple.

"It's okay Rob. I'll be back before you know it." She said with a smile. She was excited to come into the prison and finally find out if her brother had made it. There was no sign of other living people, but she still had hope. Roberta understood that and nodded obediently before eyeing Daryl.

"Take care of her, please." Robbie asked and Daryl looked uncomfortable but he still nodded and followed Valery into the yard. He had to make an effort not to take Carol and Valery and simply hide them away from the teeth and rams trying to yank a piece of them. The two women seemed to be doing just fine, though. Carol's aim had improved during the winter, with the help of Daryl. Valeria's method was lest scientific and consisted on hitting everything that moved. She was s blurry spot of colors as her hair flied around her.

Daryl had his own hands full trying to shoot the walkers before they could approach the group. When they reached one of the surveillance towers, Rick ordered him and Carol to take it and shoot from there. There was a moment of hesitation for Daryl when he realized he wouldn't be able to watch after Valery's back.

"Daryl!" Carol called him and he decided to follow Rick's orders. When he got to the top of the tower he realized he had nothing to worry about. Valeria wasn't that good but she manage to kill some of the attackers. She even seemed eager to get to the actual building, killing whatever got into her way. She was so eager to get there that she didn't notice a chubby prison officer approaching her from behind.

Daryl shot a walker that was getting dangerously close to Glenn and turned to watch Valery. She still hadn't seen the creep approaching her and the creature tried to grab a her neck, but she moved to kill another walker. "Valery!" Daryl yelled, not caring if he looked over protective. Valery didn't heard him and the walker made a second attempt to grab her back. "Val! Turn around for God's sake!"

This time she did heard him but when she turned around the walker grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her to his mouth. Daryl heard the horrified scream of Robbie and noticed that Valery closed her eyes, preparing herself for the bit. He had only one shot and his felt relieved when he saw the bolt hanging of the back of the walker's head. The creep froze for a few seconds before falling to one side.

Valery looked up and shielded her eyes from the light to see Daryl. He gave her a brief nod and continued shooting the nearest targets. Valery seemed eager to continue moving forward but Rick decided it was best to secure the field and call it a day.

"Hey, need some help?" Maggie asked Valery. She had noticed how most of the group avoided the girl and she felt bad when she saw Valery struggling to put on her tent. Valery looked relieved when Maggie jogged her way and started sorting the strings around.

They worked in silence for a while. Valery began relaxing when she understood Maggie didn't seem to hate her as much as the rest of the camp. She had intentionally settled her tent away from the rest of the group but she could still see the light of the fireplace and the rest of the people talking. Maggie noticed she was staring and she smiled, "Why don't you join us?

"What? Mmmm…no, no, I'm good here, really." Valery stammered as she felt a light blush spread through her face. Maggie didn't push her and kept working silently.

In no time, the tent was set and both girls stood awkwardly in front of each other. Valery shook the dirt out of her hands as she spoke shyly, "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome." She chuckled lightly and added, "I know how hard it is to be the new girl. You can talk to me or Glenn if you get lonely, you know?"

Valery took a few minutes to answer but when she finally gathered the courage, Maggie was already walking away. Instead, Daryl was approaching with a quick pace.

"Why aren't ya' with the others?" he asked without stopping and Valery just shrurgged.

"Didn't felt like it. Where are you going?" she asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"I'm on the first watch." Daryl explained as he passed her but he stopped a few meters ahead. "Are ya' waiting for a written invitation, girl?"

Valery smiled widely as she followed the hunter through the darkness.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

**Quick note, Agustín Lara is my grandma's favorite singer and Calle 13 is a rap/reggae group that I completely adore and since I'm going to their concert tomorrow, I thought of including that little detail **


	8. Todos mueren

**To my faithful reviewers, Letmefallasleep (she's a badass mom! Sometimes I think that Lori and Carol were too soft, too) and FanFicGirl10 (Glad you liked the smut LOL!) THANKS! Leyshla Gisel pointed out that Daryl might acted a little OOC. I agree, I apologize and hopefully I can set this straight in this chapter. It's always nice to have good critics!**

**Also welcome to shellyme (You got a very interesting opinion about Valery!) and Katie Garrett (I must confess I found the first couple of episodes a bit scary, but then they become addictive!). And thanks to Otaku Wench and NerdiestGal**

**for following this story.**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

They had been in silence for a couple minutes. Valery had taken a sit on the edge of the truck and she was balancing her legs like in a swing. Daryl didn't seemed capable of holding still either because it was the third time he paced around the truck.

"Do you ever relax?" Valery asked with a smile as she looked up to Daryl. He hesitated and then took a seat next to her. Being around Valery always made him a little uneasy, so he took his time before speaking.

"Ya´ know, what happen out there was a mistake." The thought had been haunting him since they hit the road, but he didn't wanted to push her away either. Daryl wasn't used to deal with all these feelings.

"I know, I should have been paying attention. Nice save, though" Valery smiled again. She had to admit she always feel like smiling when Daryl was around.

Daryl stared at her, uncertain about how to proceed. "No, well yes..." all those feelings seemed to be messing up with his head. "I mean the walker shit was also fucked up but I meant what happened at the woods."

Valery's smile weakened. Just when she tough they were making some progress, Daryl backed out? "Want your shirt back?" she asked with a cold voice.  
Daryl noticed the change on her features and he cursed silently. It wasn't his intention to make her feel bad at all, in fact, he wished to make her smile all the time. "That ain´t the problem."

"Then what is it, Daryl?" Valery snapped with irritation. She had never been good reading signals. She wasn´t like Loreen, who read all those Cosmo shit. She was more straight forward…"_Do you like me or not?"_ She wanted to ask

"We were alone, ya´ had no weapons and I was… distracted. Might as well place a gigantic shiny arrow announcing free lunch for the geeks." Daryl decided that sounded better and Valery seemed to recover her smile.

"Nothing happened" she pointed out as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Daryl looked down to her hand. Valery quickly moved away and he repressed the impulse to tell her not to.

"´Cuz we were lucky. Wanna have Rick explaining yar kid that ya´ got eaten ´cuz ya' were plating the stripper?" A hurt look crossed Valery's eyes and Daryl softened his voice as he continued, "That shit gotta end, Val."

He wasn't pushing her away, at least for now. "Fine. So, can we be friends at least?" the hope on her voice made Daryl's heart swollen.

"I guess. I don´t hate ya´, okay?" he grinned with amusement and she chuckled.

" Jeez, thanks! I don´t hate you either Daryl." She declared. Their eyes crossed for an instant and they both understood that there was a hidden meaning behind their words; a peace offer.

"So, ya´ sorted things out with your girl?" Daryl asked curiously as he chipped away the paint from the truck's roof.

"You too?" Valery complained with frustration. She had been lectured by Rick before and she wasn´t on the mood to get a speech form Daryl.

"I just thing ya´ could have done things better." Daryl suggested. Valery gave him an eye roll and Daryl smirked.

"She doesn´t wants to kill them, Daryl. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Be all nice and gentle and hope she comes around before she gets her head bitten off?" Valery felt like she could spoke her mind freely without being judged. Still, she was a little disappointed. Of all people, she hoped Daryl would be the one to understand her methods.

"Have ya´ tried talkin´ to her?" He suggested, sensing her frustration. She arranged her hair to fall loosely over her right shoulder, giving him a perfect sight of her neck. Soon, Daryl caught himself wondering if her skin would be a soft as it looked.

"Have you? It´s like talking to a tiny grown up, she acts more mature than I do." She defended herself. Communication had never been the strong point on her family and if it wasn´t for Loreen, Valery and Thiago would communicate with growls half of the time.

"Just trust me on this one, okay? Kids don´t take well when ya´ do shit like that." He recalled Merle's voice yelling at him as he desperately tried to shoot an arrow. His voice became harsher when he explained, "Messes them up, ya´know?"

"Tough parents?" Valery interrupted Daryl's thoughts.

"Sort of. What about your folks?" This was weird for him. He wasn't used to make small talk but he didn't wanted Valery to get bored and leave.

"My mom left my brother and me with my grandma and when she died we came here. I was only four and Thiago was fourteen."Valery payed no attention to the surprise on Daryl's eyes. If her brother had managed to cross the border while taking care of a little girl like her maybe there was still a chance he had made it alive. "Thiago worked on a restaurant for a few years until he could afford our own place." By age of twenty, Thiago had already conquered most of the drug selling territory and had already assembled a small gang.

"He's a though son of a bitch." Valery added as she chuckled. She couldn't remember how many times had he beaten up one of his friend for doing as much as looking to Valery.  
"Think he's alive?" Daryl asked and Valery looked away. She didn't want Daryl to see her eyes watering.

A fragile voice interrupted them. Carol's eyes were gentle but Valery felt frustrated by her intrusion. "I'm sorry for interrupting. Just tough you might be hungry." She handed Daryl a plate with food and Valery snorted. Clearly Carol hadn't thought or hadn't cared if she was hungry.

She stood up and shook the dirt from her jeans. "That my cue. Good night."

Daryl complained, "Ya' don't have to leave…"

Valery shook her head and she was preparing to climb out of the truck when Carol laid a hand on her shoulder. "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you?"

Valery was so surprised that she just managed to nod absently. " I been talking with Robbie and she´s such a sweet little girl." Carol was going around the actual subject and that irritated Valery to no end. "I´m thinking maybe you could be more... Affective with her."

Valery had had enough. One thing was to take Rick's lecture for endangering the group or Daryl's advice but this was a challenge to her authority. Her hands clenched to fists and her eyes narrowing, making Carol step back unconsciously. "Lady, I been hearing this shit all day. The way I raise my daughter is none of your business. Have a good night." She nodded again and jumped off the roof. She tumbled a bit and started walking away.

Daryl tried to hide his disappointment from Carol and she gave him a shy look. She was about to ask if he liked the food when Valeria's head appeared on the edge of the roof.

"Hey Daryl, I changed my mind. You can have your shirt back." And with a mischievous smile, she tossed him the shirt and walked away.

For a fraction of seconds Daryl examined the piece of fabric and when he finally understood what it implied he stood up quickly, colliding with Carol. He mumbled some sort of apology as he looked around just to see Valery's bare back walking away.

He smiled.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery was still smiling when she entered her tent. She had no idea why she had put up that little show in front of Carol, but the expression of the older woman certainly paid off.

"Where's your shirt?" Robbie had woken up and she was now frowning with confusion. Valery laughed as she kicked off her shoes before jumping into the sleeping bag next to her daughter. "No! You have your own, Vale!"

"Come on! It's freezing!" Valery complained as Robbie cried and giggled when her mother's cold feet touched hers. "Come here, Rob." Valery then cuddled her daughter in her arms. It felt wonderful. They didn't often enjoyed each other's contact, but lately Robbie seemed to be growing up faster and Valery felt the need to treasure the small moments like this one.

Roberta also remained silent, scared to move and break the moment. Eventually, her curiosity became overwhelming. "Where's your shirt?"

"With Daryl." Valery simply responded as she pressed her body against her daughter. It almost felt like the rest of the world had evaporated; there were no walkers, no dead, no more fights. Valery wished she could stay like this forever.

"I like Daryl." Robbie declared and Valery smiled.

"Oh, yeah?" Valery then started caressing the curls on Robbie's head. "He's nice."

"And he could protect us. And I bet he tells good stories." Robbie's enthusiasm widened her mother's smile.

"How do you know he does?" Valery asked curiously and she felt Robbie shrug.

"I just know." After that answer there was a small silence as Roberta gathered the courage to ask, "Can we keep him? Please?"

Valery busted out in laughter, thinking of what would Daryl's face look if he heard Robbie's idea. Fighting trough the chuckles, she asked, "What? Like a puppy?"

"No, silly." Robbie argued and then she simply said, "Like a daddy."

Every muscle on Valery's body froze. Roberta sensed her reaction and turned to face her with a worried expression. Valeria tried to compose a smile but she wasn't convincing enough because Robbie was still worried, "Are you mad at me?"

"No! Why would I be?" Valery responded with a calm voice, but she quickly declared, "Time to sleep, angel." , before Robbie could continue the talk.

In a few minutes. Robbie was sleeping peacefully, but Valery hadn't been able to close her eyes. She didn't saw Daryl that way, did she? No, of course not. He was a distraction, a toy, something nice for the view. Then why did the thought of Robbie calling him dada brought a whole parade of elephants to her guts? Maybe it was simply because it had been too long since she last got some action.

There had never been anyone after Leon and if there was, Thiago did a good job scaring them away. The only guy that made it to the second day had been one of Loreen's friends and even he couldn't run away fast enough when Robbie got sick and she spend the night puking all over everything. That had been almost three years ago and she hadn't dated ever since. Maybe it was just the lack of sex, Valery reasoned for herself. If that was all there was, maybe her problem wasn't that big. Sure, guys were kind of rare these days, at least the leaving ones. Glenn and Rick were clearly off limits. Maybe Daryl….

No.

Daryl was off limits too, even if she wasn't sure why. So…T-do would have to do. That or she would have to go beg Hershel to bang her. The sole though of his face when she asked brought a smile to her face. After that, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery woke up with the most terrible mood she had ever had. Roberta must have sensed that, because she was gone by the time her mother woke up. Valery stumbled up outside just in time to see everyone packing up. She growled, like _literally_ growled. Then she remember she was still half-naked. It was only making her grumpier until she spotted the flag outside the tent. It wasn't really a flag as she realized when she took a better look. It was a stick nailed on the floor with a familiar blue sleeveless T-shirt flying away.

She yanked it away from the stick and kneeled to pick up the note it had been attached to the fabric. _"Keep the damn shirt. I don't want everybody to see your bony ass walking naked around the camp."_

Valery looked up and saw Daryl a few meters away. Their eyes crossed and he intended to smirk, but she looked away too fast. In fact she avoided him all day and even when Rick called everyone in to give orders, she placed herself as far from him as possible. Daryl stared at her, trying to find some sign of where he could have done something to insult her. She looked pretty, as always. She was wearing his shirt and her hair was pulled up on a ponytail. She didn't stop biting her nails, but that was about it.

"Daryl did you heard me?" Rick called his attention and Daryl realized he hadn't been paying attention. His face must have given him away because Rick sighted and warned him, "We need full attention today, all right?"

Being lectured by Rick only made Daryl more frustrated than he already was, but he still nodded obediently. He also placed himself discretely next to Valery when the group prepared. "What's up with ya' today?"

Valery looked up to him absently before shaking her head and sighting, "Just a bad nightmare."

It had'nt been so much of a scary dream but more of a confusing one. She remembered bits and pieces of it, like the face of Leon calling her whore, Thiago eating Robbie's right leg as Daryl worked on her head, Daryl kissing her passionately and she actually enjoying the kiss until he started biting her skin away.

To sum it up, it hadn't been the best night.

Daryl knew she wasn't being completely honest, but he opted for giving her a gentle push as the gates opened and warning, "Keep your eyes open."

And it was good advice because soon they were under heavy attack. Everywhere Daryl turned, there was a face trying to bit off his face. He had no time to look after Valery so he could only hope she was doing fine. Rick and T-dog had closed the inner gates to prevent any more walkers to join the party but they still had their hands full. Just when they seemed to start controlling things, the guards with helmets appeared.

"Valery, stay close to me!" Daryl ordered, but Valery was to caught up on a one to one fight with one of the guards.

"Did you saw that?!" the cheerfulness on Maggie's voice draught everyone's attention. "I did it!" she proudly declared. Daryl understood that she had found a way to kill the guards, just by lifting the helmet and going for the brain through the neck. Daryl quickly get rid of his walker and he turned to see Valery was doing the same with hers. Glenn had pretty much everything under control so Daryl quickly looked around for a new target.

He saw this young woman with a white dress and long black hair covering her face and decided to take her down. The woman never stood a chance and Daryl was already cleaning his knife when he heard the muffled cry. Valery's eyes were filled with tears and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Valery?" Daryl asked with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Val? Are you okay?" rick jogged to the girl just in time to hold her before her knees collapsed.

Daryl approached quickly and kneeled next to her but she pushed him aside roughly. "No, God why?" Valery muttered as tears began rolling through her face. Daryl realized her eyes were glued to the lifeless woman on the floor and he connected the dots.

"Adrina..Adriana…"Valery kept mumbling nonsense and crying_. __"Todos estan muertos. Todos están muertos…"_

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Quick translation of Valery's last words: Everyone is dead...Everyone is dead...


	9. Fire!

**So, you might be wondering what took me so long to publish this! Well, TWD mid season finale just aired in my country and I got some news! At the beginning this started like a simple OC/Daryl and I had planned two main subplots: why did Robbie didn't want to kill walkers, Leon's dead and the mysterious dead of someone named Bobby. Well, after the episode last week, I'm planning a bigger plot. I'll give you a clue: reunion. If anyone of you guesses what it is, I'll give you a spoiler on next chapter!**

**As always, I got some thanking to do! To FanFicGirl10( Can't blaim me for teasing! Daryl deserves some smut! ), letmefallasleep (You have no idea what it meant for me to hear your story. That's exactly the kind of things that I want Robbie to represent, the innocence of being a kid), Leyshla Gisel (She's not giving him up without a fight! )**

**Finally, thanks to Hermionechan90 for fav-ing (it's that well written O.o ?) this story! And to ObsidianBttrfly for joining us! Thank you girls!**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

**_Hot as a fever, rattling bones_**

**_I could just taste it, taste i_**

**_tIf it's not forever, if it's just tonigh_**

**_tOh, it's still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest_**

**_ KINGS OF LEON - SEX ON FIRE LYRICS_**

Valery wondered if she was a bad person. She didn't felt sad at all for loosing Adriana, in fact, she felt a little relief. Adriana and Loreen were not like her and Thiago. They were actually good people and maybe they were lucky not to have seen the things she had seen. Still, she wondered if Adriana had found Thiago or if he was still alive.

Meanwhile, Daryl was not sure what to do. Valery had gone through several phases during her mental breakdown. First she had sobbed and cried, and then she had blurted out cursing in Spanish as she paced in circles and finally she had settled still, biting her nails as she stared at the body of her deceased sister in law.

Robbie had also waited patiently, but after a quarter of hour, she couldn't take it anymore. "This stupid! It's not like you liked her anyway." Robbie exploded; a bit worried by the absent look on her mother's eyes.

"Robbie, she was your family" Valery muttered harshly but Roberta had inherited her inability to shut up when things got difficult.

"No she wasn't, she could even look at me!" Her little hands clenched into fist and Carol and Daryl exchanged a worried look.

"You don't get it! If she's dead, that means Santiago is dead too!" Valery yelled as she tried to fight back the tears.

"Who cares?! You're alive and so am I!" Robbie had had enough. She was a little girl and Valery was an adult; it was time they got that point straight. "_Mama, mira!_ I´m alive! Why isn't that enough for you?!" Her voice came out as a strangled cry as she spit the words.  
Valery didn't thought, she just reacted. Her hand slapped hard Robbie's face as she barked _"Callate!__"_ She regretted her action as soon as she committed it, but it was too late. Carol ran to Robbie, hugging her tightly. Roberta had her hand pressed against her cheek and she was looking at her mom with a mix of disbelief and resentment.

It was the first time her mother hit her.

Valery was shaking and she tried to approach to her daughter but a strong hand held her jaw and forced to face the other way. The blue eyes glowed with anger and Daryl's voice was low and threatening when he said, "Don´t ya´ ever hit her again!" He was so close that Valery could feel his warm breath brushing her lips. "Ya´ heard me?!"

She wanted to say she was sorry, but she couldn't. Valery came from a family where emotions were weaknesses and that was not about to change anytime soon.

Suddenly Valery felt a wave of hate towards everyone. She hated Thiago for leaving her, she hated Robbie because she was right, she hated Carol for being able to provide Rob with the affection she couldn't give her but most of all, she hated Daryl and she made it clear when she hissed, "Oh yea, because we don't hit girls, right?" Daryl let go immediately but his eyes flicked with hurt when he saw the red marks he had caused on her face.

He had been trying so hard to change, but every time Valery was around he went straight to his old habits.

"_Mierda!"_ Valery cursed as she walked away.

"Daryl, Come inside." Rick had wisely stayed out of the argument, as most of the group. Daryl stared at him and Rick added with a paternal tone, "Give her some time. C'mon." Daryl obeyed and that served as a signal for the rest of the group to follow them.

Carol stood up and she gently pulled the little girls hand."Robbie? Do you want to come inside?"

"No. Could you leave me alone, please?" Roberta didn't want to sound rude, but there was something she needed to do.

"I don't know if it's safe, sweetie." Carol doubted

"It´s okay, I´ll look after her." Carl offered, stepping next to the younger girl.

"Come inside whenever you're ready, sweetheart." Carol said before planting a kiss on her temple and giving Carl a light shoulder squeeze.

Roberta looked at Carl, trying to decide if he could be trusted. Sadly, she realized she had no choice. She ignored him and kneeled next to Adriana, trying to decide what piece he should token she should take with her. Quickly she spotted the silver bracelet and took it. Carl had placed himself next to her and he observed her actions with curiosity. "What are you doing?" He asked, kneeling next to her.

For all response she opened the bunny bag and emptied its contents. Random objects felt to the ground and while Robbie sorted them out, "What's all that stuff?"

"This is from the walker on the store.", she pointed at an id red tag that read Tommy. "This is from the walker on the woods", she took a piece of blue fabric and lined it next to the tag. "This is from Miss Lavonn." she showed Carl a pearl neckless. "And this are... This are from Bobby." she took out the lasers and the Max Steel.

"What is this?" Carl examined a blue glitter notebook.

"The dates and places where we killed them. Names if we know them; if not, a description." Robbie explained with a sad voice.

"Why is bobby's name circled? Who´s Bobby?" Robbie looked at her feet. She wished Carl hadn't ask that. Until now it was going good, he hadn't called her a freak or said her plan was stupid. Still, Robbie wasn't ready to talk about Bobby. She looked up and decided she could trust Carl with her secret.

"Are you afraid of them?" She asked and Carl frowned. It was a stupid question, he thought.

"A little. How about you?" he confessed as he kicked the dirt on the ground.

"Not really. I mean, they are just people." Robbie sounded sincere and to be true, Carl felt a little envious. It had taken him a while to stop screaming every time a walker came across his way.

"I don't believe you. You´re not afraid of being bitten? Being eaten to dead? Watch your family turn into monsters?" Carl teased her, but she just tilted her head with frustration. He was not getting it.

"Yes, but you know what really scares me?" Roberta had never confessed this to anyone, but she couldn't hold it any longer. "Being forgotten..."  
-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Rick had started putting together a cleaning brigade. Lori insisted they needed to rest, but Rick disagreed. He could never rest while there were still freaks so close to his family. He picked out volunteers and start giving out weapons.

"Only silent weapons, we remain on tight formation all the time…" Rick eyed each one of the members of the party as he gave away instructions. Suddenly everyone's expression changed and Rick looked behind him. Valery said nothing as she approached the weapon's table and collected her machete.

After a while, the looks became hard to ignore and she snapped, "What?!"

Looking for a diplomatic solution, Rick touched her arm, "Valeria can I have a word with you?"

Valery doubted but after a while she nodded and followed Rick away from the group. Rick could literally felt Daryl's eyes burning his back when he grabbed both of the girl's shoulders and looked into her eyes."Maybe you should skip this one." Valery opened her mouth, but he continued, "You've just been through a traumatic experience and I..."

Valery cut him with confidence, "You have nothing to worry about, Rick. Robbie was right, I didn't even liked her." There was something similar to a smile on her face when she said that, but immediately her face recovered the seriousness. "Hey, I just... I slipped but now I´m back up." She sighted and placed her hand on Rick's cheek, trying to convince him. "Shit happens, right?"

Rick closed his eyes, enjoying the warm touch of her skin. It had been too long since anyone touched him that way, but he quickly recovered his composure. He opened his eyes and ordered firmly, "Stay close to me and as soon as you feel you´re about to lose it again, you ask for help okay?"

Valery nodded and she looked around. She noticed that both Daryl and Lori were staring at them. She grinned and gave a quick peck on Rick's cheek before happily saying, "Thanks." And walking away.

Lori's face was priceless.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

The next cell block was brutal. Even with a tight formation, it felt like the walkers were too damn close to them. Valery didn't struggled as much as everyone because it seemed that every walker that came into her direction was quickly taken down by either Rick or Daryl. After watching a walker grazing Daryl's neck with its teeth because he was too busy protecting her, she exploded.

First she sliced up the walker's head, sending a gruesome spray of dead skin and blood over both of her faces. Then she turned to Daryl and hissed, "Stop trying to protect me! It's going to kill you!"

Daryl shot an arrow to the walker behind her and barked back, "Stop tryin´ so damn hard to get killed!"

"Guys!" Glenn called, signaling a skinny dead inmate that had decided on them for dinner. Both her machete and his knife went through the poor guy's skull at the same time.

They looked at each other and for a minute, the complicity between them was back. Valery even felt herself beginning to blush but then there was a clear reminder of what the world had became. Valery wasn't sure how it all started. She saw Glenn and Maggie running one way and the rest of the group on another way. Valery tried to follow them but at least a dozen of walkers suddenly appeared in front of her. She felt Daryl pulling her hand and running away behind him.

It seemed like they had ran for hours in the dark and each wrong turn or closed exit just made Valery felt more like inside a gigantic labyrinth. The sole thought of being trapped made her pulse accelerate and made her difficult for her to breath. When they reached a new dead end, Daryl dropped her hand. He covered his face with his hands and muttered, "Shit! C'mon, this way." He pulled her hand but she didn't move.

"No, Daryl stop!" she pleaded, but he ignored her complains.

He dragged her around as he ordered harshly, "Got to keep movin´, gurl!"

"No, please." Valery could barely breath and when Daryl tried to advance, she clenched to his hand and cried out, "Please!"

Something in her voice made him turn back. What he saw scared him a lot. Valery was covered in sweat and her chest frantically rise with short movements as she tried to get the air to her lungs. Her eyes were watering and her skin was pale as a ghost. The desperation on her look was reinforced by the way her nails dug into his hands.

"What's wrong with ya?" Daryl asked, as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"I can't…I can't…I can't breathe." Valery blurted in between gasps and Daryl started getting seriously worried. He was no doctor, but she sure looked like shit.

"Hey, calm the fuck down. Ya have asthma or some of that shit?" Daryl tried to guess, but Valery simply closed her eyes. It couldn't be asthma, he reasoned, because he had seen her running around and doing shit. Thinking back, he realized the problems seem to have started when they began finding dead ends and closed gates_…"Shit, it's a fuckin´ panic attack." _He thought. He remembered a girl he had dated used to have panic attacks whenever she saw a spider, but this seemed worse. "What are ya' afraid of?"

"You know how I crossed the border?" she asked and the weakness on her voice surprised Daryl. He grunted and she continued, still without opening her eyes, "We traveled on the back of a truck for seven days. Thirteen people on the back of a truck, with over hundred degrees by the time we got to the desert. Can't remember much, but the heat and the darkness…the…" her voice broke down and her knees faltered for a second.

Daryl quickly pulled her against his chest for support. Valery clenched to the hem of his shirt and inhaled his essence. He smelled like sweat, blood and forest. He smelled like wildness. He wasn't sure what to do, but he felt awkward with his hands hanging on the sides, so he wrapped them around her low waist, pulling her even closer. The warm of her body against him seemed just…right. Her lips softly lied on the space between his neck and jaw and a moan escaped his mouth almost involuntarily.

Embarrassed, he tried to pull away, but her hands pulled him back."I need this, Daryl" there was such conviction on her voice that Daryl felt a completely different sensation spreading through his body.

"Ya're not in the back of a truck. Ya're here, with me." He whispered against her hair. Without noticing, his thumbs started drawing circular patterns on her low back. Valery's breathing had returned to normal, but she still didn't want to let go of him.

Neither of them had been with another person intimately since the word went to hell and their bodies just craved the human contact. Still, Daryl didn't want to lower his defenses on a place like this. As soon as he felt Valery calming down a bit, he tried to pull away again.

This time Valery couldn't resist; she wrapped one hand around the hair on the back of his head and stared at him with fire burning on her eyes. "I need you, Daryl." Her voice became a low whisper when she added, "I want you, Daryl."

It was instinctive. His lips crashed with hers and his hands pushed her body against him harshly. Valery whimpered as she opened her mouth to let him in and his tongue entered her mouth. It felt like ecstasy for both and all thoughts disappeared. His hands lowered to grab her ass and pushed it against his hardness. Valery cried again, tangling both hands around his hair and tried to pull him closer. He squeezed her ass harshly and she jumped to wrap her legs around him. He felt the bulge on his pants grow bigger as her thighs pressed against his sides. He moaned again and he growled when Valery bit into his lower lip. None of the girls he fucked had ever done that and much to his surprise, he felt a wave of pleasure flooding him.

And that's when he decided to stop.

He yanked her body away and looked down at her. She looked angry and he repressed the urge to laugh. She had been clearly enjoying it too and she wasn't too pleased to stop. He pulled away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail as he grinned and said, "Ya' might be the best friend I ever had."

The corners of her mouth twirled up and he grinned again. "No more funny shit until we find our way back, ya' heard me?"

She nodded and a playful smile appeared on her face. "You know, that was hell of a first kiss." She whispered and then tried to walk pass Daryl, but he stopped her.

"We still need to sort out what ya' did to yer kid." He reminded her and suddenly Valery remembered they had been mad at each other before…that.

She yanked her arm free from Daryl's grip and spitted out. "We don't need to sort out shit." She started walking away as she said. "That was fun and nothing more."

Daryl cursed lowly. He didn't want the…fun to end so quickly. He made the necessary adjustments on his pants and followed Valery, trying to figure out what to say. "Listen, ya're right. It was my fault and I won't let it happen again." He promised, already knowing he wouldn't be able to fulfill that promise and finally Valery slowed down. "Are we coo…?"

"Sshh, I heard something!" she said and then signaled him, "This way!"

Daryl took the lead and he realized she was right. The echo of scream of pain guided them to a large room and what he saw shocked him. Lying on a large pull of blood there was Hershel passed out and with a missing leg. Rick had a maniac expression and his face was covered in blood.

More important, there were a group of living men with prison uniforms staring at them. Daryl turned back to see how Valery was doing. She was standing on the door, looking as confused at him. She was about to say something and then Daryl saw the walker. He didn't know it, but it had been the same walker that bit Hershel. "Noooooo!" he screamed as Valery looked down just to see how the walker grabbed her shoe and bit into her foot.

She looked at Daryl, who had a terrified expression and the last thing she thought was that she hadn´t said goodbye to Roberta before leaving.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

**Cliffhanger! I know, you hate me! But I did give you some smut on this one, so you can't be mad. Remember to add your theories about the big plot on that lovely reviews of yours. And I hope you didn't thought Daryl's actions were OOC, it's just that these too are so intense than they either beat each other to dead or well…you know!**


	10. Little Talks

**lynn2008 and OmgitsBlondie ! Glad to see that there are some new readers. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Valery now that I had a chance to develop her character. FanFicGirl10**** (sorry for the cliffhanger! As I was writing it, I was doing an evil laugh!) ****Leyshla Gisel (I hadn't planned Rick's kiss…it just wrote itself :D )**

**Special thanks to letmefallasleep for her theories, I actually found some of them very intriguing! The next chapter will be more like a tease on the big plot, because I love to make you suffer girl! Just kiddin, thanks for the support!**

**And note on this chapter, I wrote it three times and none of them seemed right. Finally I settled with this version and I think it's pretty good but I had no idea how to play poker, so please excuse me for the lack of details LOL !**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

_**Let's go out and make the road shake**____**  
**__**I got love to make**____**  
**__**And I've gotta leave in the morning light**____**  
**__**Got a book to write**____****_

_**Leather bound in my feathered hand**____**  
**__**To make you understand**____**  
**__**To make you understand**____**  
**__**That its jus for now**__**  
**__**It's just for now**____****_

_**Cloud Control, Just for Now.**_

"_Seriously, Val? A swimsuit?" Loreen teased a she held the floral fabric and laughed. "You suck at packing, you know?"_

"_Add it to the list." Valery said, still throwing things to the backpacks._

"_What list?" Loreen asked confused as she emptied the backpacks that Valery had already made. She looked through the contents with an amused face._

"_The list of things I suck at." Valery explained as she sighted._

"_That's a very long list." Loreen joked as she tossed things aside. "Val, you've packed like twenty bras and no shoes!"_

_Valery looked down to her black flats, and she then looked up to Loreen with a quizzical look, "What's wrong with these ones?"_

"_Can't run with those things!" Loreen exclaimed with frustration as she folded properly the clothes that she considered adequate._

"_I don't have other shoes." Valery confessed. She only owned one pair of shoes at the time. It was a bad habit she had caught when they were too poor to afford clothes and it clearly surprised Loreen because she started at her with disbelief. _

"_Go to my closet and take out the black Converse." She ordered just as Robbie entered the room carrying tons of socks. "You people are hopeless."_

_Valery did as she was told and dug into the closet until she found the right pair of tennis. As she tried them out, she felt a wave of excitement. Loreen always had the nicest clothes and shoes, not necessarily because they were expensive; it was just a talent of hers._

_Sadly, she also had a bigger foot. Valery limped back to the room where Loreen had recruited Robbie into her folding army. "They don't fit."_

_Loreen barely gave her a glance before saying, "Wear thick socks, then."_

_Seeing that she was too busy to give her another instruction, Valery sighted and went to Leon's drawer. She opened for the first time since he had died and his familiar essence filled the room. Valery carefully dug around until she found the right pair of socks. Before closing the cabinet she repressed the urge to pack some of Leon's shirts._

_She still regretted not doing so._

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

It was almost funny how the walker tried to bit trough the fabric. The poor thing bit and growled as he changed the angle off his head, trying to find a clear spot to dig in. Valery watched him for a whole minute before processing what was happening and finally freak out. "Help! Help me!" she screamed and that seemed to wake up the rest of the team from their numbness.

As soon as Daryl heard her screaming he yanked the axe away from Rick and charged against the walker. He started frantically smashing the walker's head, even if after the first dozen of hits the thing didn't moved anymore. He was so caught up by the adrenaline that he didn't noticed when the walker's head (or what was left of it) slipped to a side. The next hit went straight into Valery's feet, cutting into the flesh. Valery cried in pain, falling backwards and caught by T-dog.

"Shit!" Daryl cursed, realizing what he had done. "Damn Val, I'm sorry, I…"

"Daryl, we don't have time!" Rick called his attention and Daryl saw that he and Glenn were already holding Hershel up, who had passed out and was losing a lot of blood.

"She could be bitten! We need ta cut her feet too!" Daryl reasoned, already walking towards Valery with the axe.

Seeing the determination on his face Valery cried out with panic and pressed her body against T-dog's strong body. "Get away from me, psycho!" she cried out.

The Afroamerican man held out a protective hand in front of Valery and tried to convince Daryl, "Man, you can't do that! We don't know if she had been bitten…"

"But she…"Daryl insisted still clenching the axe's handle.

"We don't have time for that!" Rick yelled, imposing his authority as he started dragging Hershel. "He's losing too much blood! "

"Fine!" Daryl said, finally tossing the axe aside. He then approached Valery, but she flinched away, curling up against T-dog.

"I got this, bro." he said calmly before lifting Valery's body princess style.

"We could help!" A short blonde prisoner with a mustache jumped forward, but he was welcomed by Daryl's crossbow pointed at his face.

"Stay away from her." Daryl simply declared before following the group outside the room.

Clearly his threat hadn't been as powerful as he thought because he could hear the convicts' footsteps after them. "Over there, follow the light!" he heard one of them saying and he realized they were giving them a path of crumbles to follow. Still, without the light they would all get lost and that wasn't an option. He wasn't really sure which of the moans and cried of pain were from the undead, which from Hershel and which from Valery.

The young girl came floating in the back of his thoughts. It had all happened too damn fast. In fact, the memory of the kiss they shared was still fresh on his mind as he bashed the walker's head. Now it all seemed like a bad dream. He knew that if she had been bitten, he had lost the only opportunity to save her back there. He guessed she wouldn't be too happy to be mutilated like that, but at least she would be safe, right?

If she had been bitten…

Valery was thinking the same thing. Well that and the fact that she was going to murder Daryl with her own hands because her feet really hurt. The bumping against T-dog's body was only making the pain worse, but she still resisted crying. She wondered if this was how she was meant to spend the last minutes of life she had, running through a filthy dark corridor. She wondered if she would never kiss Daryl again. She wondered if she would make it on time to say goodbye to Robbie. What would she say to her?

"You're a survivor, _nena; a guerrera._ You'll be just fine." The same words Thiago had said to them before parting.

Suddenly, there was a light that blinded her and that was it.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Next thing Valery saw was the concrete on the ceiling of a cell. She was lying down on a bunk and she tried to sit up but there was a sharp pain on her lower half. _"God, please no…please tell me that Daryl didn't chop off my feet."_ She through as she sit up. Someone had taken off her jeans and she could feel the fabric of the clean sheets against her legs. That calmed her down a bit. She uncovered herself and contemplated her body. The legs were still there, luckily; as well as the foot. There was a bandage covering her instep and she guessed there would be stitches below it.

"I tried my best, but it will leave a pretty ugly scar." Carol's voice declared from the entrance of the door. The woman gave her one of those shy smiles she loved but Valery didn't felt as irritated by them as usual.

"What's the diagnostic, doc? Any chance I will bite your head off?" Valery said harshly and noticed that her voice sounded awfully weak.

Carol didn't seemed offended by her words. She sat on the edge of the mattress, and said, "Well you did passed out when you got here and everyone was afraid you might be turning." Carol gave her another smile before carrying on, "Rick said we should wait and see and Daryl said we should put you out of your misery before you wake up." Carol giggled and then added, "Robbie didn't like that and she threw him a variety of objects threatening to slice his throat if he did so."

"That's my girl." Valery said proudly. Then she imagined what Robbie must have thought when she saw her mother being carried out of the cell block covered in blood and her smile faded away.

"That's what you said. You opened your eyes and said: That's my girl." Carol then gave her a serious look. "Still, Rick wants to keep you and Hershel under vigilance for the night."

"So you're my nanny? Or more like my guard? Are you supposed to blow my brains off if I try something?" Valery didn't know why, but Carol made it impossible to contain the venom of her tongue. Valery then noticed that it didn't mattered what she said of how mean she sounded, Carol didn't seemed to lose her temper. She wondered what it had taken to make the sweet woman used to be treat so roughly. That though made her heart soften a bit.

"I actually suggested you would like a different type of guardian." Carol corrected her and then Valery noticed the dirty boots standing on the entrance.

Daryl looked like he had been through hell on the last hours. He avoided Valery's look but she could still see the small cut above his eyebrow. "What's that?" Valery asked curiously.

"Yer kid has a nice aim." Daryl said and he noticed the grin on Valery's face.

"I'll leave you kids alone." Carol said softly but then added, "Robbie fell asleep on my cell and I was wondering…"

Valery couldn't resist the hopeful look that Carol gave her and she wasn't on the mood to put on a fight, so she simply said, "Bring her to me on the morning." Valery thought that Carol looked happier when she left the cell and that made her smile.

Her absence brought an uncomfortable silence between both of them, until Valery sighted and said, "Are you going to stand there all night?"

Daryl moved clumsily to the mattress, almost like an embarrassed school boy who had been caught up doing something very bad. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up. The first thing he noticed was the bandage on her feet, what brought a new wave of fear and guilt to his heart. Then his look went up and noticed her bronzed strong legs bare nude and the blue lace panties that peeked underneath her shirt. Ashamed, he looked away and gently covered her body with the sheet.

She was embarrassed too. Not embarrassed of being half naked in front of him. She had kind of wished that the sight of her skin gave him the courage to finish what he had started earlier. She was more embarrassed of being seen like this; weak and beaten up. Her pride did ache a bit.

"Hand me the black bag pack." She ordered and Daryl quickly obeyed, desperate to do anything to make her feel better. Valery dug into the bag until she found the cards and then tossed the bag aside. Daryl saw her shuffling the cards and she asked with a smile, "You know how to play, pretty boy?"

He simply nodded and took the cards that she handed to him. He had settled in silence because nothing seemed to say: _Hey, sorry for trying to cut off your feet _properly. So instead he focused on the game.

Daryl didn't know it, but he stood no chance. Thiago had taught his girls three things in life: to play cards, to survive a street fight and to drive properly. Even Robbie could win a poker game against the most experienced players.

As they played, the mood seemed to loosen up and after her first victory; Valery found the courage to say, "Hey, you scared me back there. You know with the axe and everything…" she chuckled and added, "Remind me of The Shinning."

"Sorry 'bout that." Daryl said dryly but he felt a weight been lifted of his shoulders. At least she didn't hate him.

"It's cool, at least you're hotter than Jack Nicholson." She stated with a sassy smile and he snorted as she shuffled the cards again. She was good at this; he could tell that after the second game he lost. "What is this shit? Ya're cheatin'"

"No, but your poker face sucks." She declared with a chuckle. Daryl noticed that he had never seen her more relaxed. She seemed almost happy.

"No it doesn't. Ya're just a sneaky lil' bitch." Daryl joked and she laughed.

"You know what my brother used to do?" Valery said as she examined her set of cards. "He didn't interrogate his people with tortures or shit. He made them play poker." She placed her first card, ignoring the curiosity on his eyes. He was wondering what her brother would do for living. "He said it is harder to lie when you're concentrated on other task."

He placed his card and watched the corners of her lips move up. "Daryl…" she said, continuing with the game. "Were you scared for me?"

Daryl found out that his mind had gotten completely blank. Her eyes were sparking with amusement because she could read the answer on his face but he still needed to say it out loud, "Yes."

She continued the game but after a few moves she asked another question , "Daryl do you care ´bout me?"

"More than I should." It's not like he found the truth easy to say, but his mind was distracted and the truth seemed to be the only thing left on his mind.

"Daryl, do you want me?" when she asked the third question she wasn't even looking at him. She seemed focused on her game but Daryl knew she was listening to every word.

"Every damn second since I kissed ya." His answer must have really surprised her or else she was very tired but he actually won that last game. "Told ya, ya were cheatin´"

She chuckled but then she yawned and as she tried to shuffle the cards again, her hands were shaking so bad she spilled them all over the mattress. Daryl noticed the dim light coming from the outside and realized they had been playing all night, "Ya'should retire now that ya still got yer dignity."

Valery red the message below his words and shook her head, "I can't sleep when I'm alone."

That was the truth. First she had slept with her grandma, then with Thiago, then with Leon. The idea of Thiago marrying actually brought her a new issue and she spent a few nights wondering around the house without being able to sleep but after Robbie had born she had never spend a night sleeping on her own.

"I'll stick around till' ya' fall asleep." Daryl promised. Valery would like to have confessed that the reason why she didn't wanted to sleep was because she didn't want to stop talking to him. But her eyes were already closing and she sighted in defeat. Daryl put the cards away and waited until she lied down to sit back on the mattress.

After a few minutes, she seemed to be asleep so he tried to leave. The minute he stood up, her eyes opened. "I told you! I can't sleep alone!"

"Jesus, woman!" he hissed as he sat back down. "There, are ya happy now?"

Valery gave him a smile before laying back down. Daryl waited another hour before finally standing up. This time she didn't seemed to wake up and Daryl smiled triumphantly. He took a good look at her. She seemed so peaceful, so young. She was beautiful when she wasn´t trying so hard to be tough. Without being able to resist it, he leaned in and brushed his lisp with hers. Her lips parted slightly but she didn't woke up. He smiled again as he whispered, "´Night, baby."


	11. BONUS CHAPTER :)

**So, I want to share a quick thing with you. My BF got a very rude review saying that her OC sucks (he's writing a Sherlock fic) and he got very upset. Instead of ignoring it, he replied it with the same level of harshness and the argument has now been going on for a whole week. He has even considered abandoning the story completely, which I find very sad. **

**So I wanted to remind you guys how much I appreciate your comments and even when they are not a hundred percent positive, suggestions are always welcomed as long as they are expressed politely. That's it! Love u guys! **

The roar of the crowd was deafening and the lights blinding. People cheered and screamed as the fighters took their places on the center of the arena. Among all the happiness, there was one face particularly unhappy. The Governor, the man who saw it all, immediately noticed the discomfort of the man and asked, "What's wrong, Merle?" the governor saluted the crowd with a big smile as he added, "I thought you like the fights!"

"Yeah, when I'm the one on the ring." Merle corrected the Governor, who snorted. "What did they …?"

The Governor rolled his eyes and explained, "Caught the two of them arguing behind the storage building. I think Ronnie stole something from the tattooed kid but none of them wanted to talk so I suggested they work it out as real men do."

"I don't like that kid, he gives me the creeps." Milton, who was standing next to the Governor confessed and then lowered his look embarrassed when Merle stared at him. The truth was that it was the first thing in which Merle actually agreed with the doctor.

Merle didn't like the way he moved silently through the town. He had no friends and he had rejected the girls that tried to talk to him, which of course just made them more obsessed with him. Lots of stories circled around him, but Merle didn't believe any of them. However, there was something disturbing about the way he acted. Like for example; right now Ronnie was walking in circles, encouraging the crowd and playing around. The ex-marine didn't seem nervous at all.

Meanwhile, the kid just stood on his place; examining everything with those cold black eyes.

"Well, he has been doing alright with the patrol and I haven't got any complains about him." The Governor defended his soldier as he took the microphone. "He hasn't given up his name, though…" he whispered before enthusiastically welcoming the people to the fight and introducing the fighters.

The fight started and even if the walkers didn't represent a real threat, it promised to be a blood bath by the way both contenders looked at each other. Ronnie decided to take the first punch, since the kid didn't seem to be willing to do so. What happen next was a total blur.

What Merle managed to deduce is that the kid must have avoided Ronnie's punch and tackled him to the ground. It happened all so fast that no one really understood the details of it. In fact, the kid had already connected his tenth blow against Ronnie's head when the Governor realized that his opponent showed no signs of life. The crowd felt silent as they watched how three men struggled to restrain the kid. Milton quickly entered the arena and checked Ronnie's vitals but it was useless. As he took a closer look the doctor realized that part of his skull had sunken in grotesquely and there was probably no brain activity left.

"Did he just kill him?" Merle asked surprised as he ran to the arena following the Governor. When he took one look at the man on the floor he felt the urge to throw up, "Holly shit!"

Instead, he focused on the tattooed kid who had stopped struggling against the men who were restraining him. Merle rushed to him and punched him straight in the jaw, "You fucking lil' punk! Think ya can do that and walk away? You lil' pussy…" Merle kept saying things as he punched the kid but he got no response from him, not a single cry of pain.

"Merle, stop it!" The Governor ordered and Merle hesitantly stepped back. "Leave him alone." The Governor ordered to the men who were restraining the kid. There was a glow on the town leader's eyes like he had just found his new favorite toy.

Limping, the kid approached Ronnie's corpse and started looking for something on his clothes. Finally he extracted a photograph with three smiling women on it. There was a blonde woman holding a baby with black curls and tickling her as a young girl with colorful hair smiled.

**The photography was stained with blood.**


	12. Just relax

**Hey I forgot to thank you for the reviews on last chapter! ****FanFicGirl10 (thanks for reviewing both of my stories, love! I hope you like reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!) Leyshla Gisel (yes, miss you're right! I have to confess that I actually had to go back and re-read Valery's family description because I had forgotten as well **** ) letmefallasleep (My friend had to re publish his story but there has been no new hate mail, which I guess is good. Also, this chapter goes specially to you. I actually enjoyed writing Val's interaction with other campers so thanks for the suggestion!)**

**Finally, thank you to dallas laczny for faving both me and this story!**

**And I know there was a delay on this chapter so I apologize the best way I know: with a little smut! Enjoy!**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery didn't want to open her eyes. She knew that Daryl would be gone but she was hoping to preserve the illusion a few more minutes. Finally, the rays of sunlight hitting her face became too unpleasant and she blinked a few times. Sighting she rolled out of bed, still feeling the dizziness of sleep lingering on her body. When she stood up a sharp flinch of pain on her feet reminded her of the events of the previous day. She looked around and found her jeans and put them on. It was difficult because every movement brought a light sting of pain. The Converses were a complete different story and finally she gave up and decided she would have to be barefoot for a while. Growling and cursing, she limbered downstairs to where the group had gathered for breakfast.

She took a seat next to Roberta, ignoring everyone else's curious looks. Her own daughter had her eyes fixed on her oatmeal. Valery repressed the urge to cry when she saw that Roberta's hair was pulled up on a ponytail and decorated with a pink lace. She suspected Carol had something to do with that.

Valery noticed that Carl placed himself behind him and she heard him unlocking his gun. She looked over to Lori, who explained her calmly "It's just for precaution. Rick told him to look after you."

Valery sighted, taking the plate of oatmeal that Beth shyly offered. "I didn't eat Daryl through the night, doesn't that counts at all?" by the look that Lori gave her, she figure out that it didn't. In fact she noticed that everyone held a cautious distance with her.

She was about to start eating when she felt someone slapping her face hard. She opened her eyes and saw Robbie standing up next her, barely holding back her tears. "¿_Que chingados te pasa?" _Valery asked, still caressing the place where she had been hit.

Carl tried to get in between the girls but Robbie gestured him to stay back. "You left me! You didn't said goodbye and you…you left!" Robbie was so angry that her little body began shaking as she spoke, "Then you come back and Daryl wants to cut your feet and…and…"

Valery figured out that what she was about to do wouldn't be approved by the other mothers on the group but she didn't really cared. She stood up and hugged Robbie tightly instead of lecturing her for her aggression. Slowly, Robbie responded to the embrace, wrapping her hands around her mother's waist. "Roberta, we need to stop hitting each other. It's not healthy." Valery said and Robbie snorted. The mother pulled away from her daughter, who was whipping away her tears.

"Daryl tried to cut your feet. " Robbie commented casually as they both sat down again. Valery grinned. She knew that all the women on her family were the same way, like a volcano filled with emotions that could blow out any second and then go back to normal as if nothing had happen.

"I know, thanks for stopping him." Valery said as she ate her food and repressed a smile. "I really like my left feet."

"I don't think I want him to be my daddy anymore." Roberta said with a sight as she played around with her spoon. Valery looked around the table and saw that both Lori and Carol were giving her amused looks. They clearly didn't have the strange relationship she held with her daughter.

"Too bad. He can actually play cards, you know?" Valery said and Robbie looked up with excitement.

"Really?"

"Well he sucks, but I think you could teach him." Valery said, giving a smile to her daughter and continued eating.

She kept quiet until she heard Lori whispering to Carol, "I would kill for some ice cream now. For anything cold, actually." The pregnant woman was holding her belly as she closed her eyes. Valery figured out that the heat inside the prison walls would be ten thousand times if she had a volley ball sized belly and swallowing feet. She remembered her own pregnancy and how terrible she had felt on the last months.

"When I was pregnant, I craved for mayonnaise. " Valery spoke and she quickly looked down when Lori opened her eyes. Val realized this was the first time she talked with the woman after pointing a gun at her. "I would sit on the couch and eat a whole jar as I watched Friends re-runs." Valery confessed as she stared at her plate. When she looked up, Lori was smiling.

"Yiuck, that's gross." Carl said as he relaxed and sit down next to Robbie.

"That's nothing! I would eat pickles all day!" Carol said with a giggle and the rest of the women chuckled.

If felt weird for Valery to interact with the rest of the group. She felt like she was finally being accepted and she liked it a lot. It was nice to be so….normal. "Robbie, you know what I remembered last night?" Valery asked once the laughs died. "You're going to be ten tomorrow."

Robbie sighted and looked down, _" Y que importa?"_ she muttered sadly and then she added, "I don't see the point of birthdays anymore."

Valery felt a knot on her throat. She had always wished Robbie to toughen up a bit but it was also sad to see how dark had her world turned into since the apocalypse started. Valery also recalled that her last birthday party had been a big fancy one since Mrs. Lavonn allowed Robbie to celebrate her birthday party with Bobbys. Valery felt depressed knowing that Robbie would never have a birthday party again.

Luckily, Beth knew just what to say, "Are you kidding me? The ten birthdays are the most important of all! The big two ciphers! " Beth's excitement seemed to wake up Robbie's curiosity. The teenager then gave a dramatic sight and added, "God! I wish I could be ten again!"

"We could do a party together. You could be ten if you want to." Robbie suggested kindly and Beth smiled happily.

"Seriously, Rob? Would you do that for me?" Beth asked with illusion and Robbie nodded. "Cool! Come on, we have a lot to plan." Beth stood up and went around the table to take Robbie's hand. Roberta gave her mother a questioning look and Valery gave her an encouraging nod. Then she looked up and mouthed a silent _"Thank you."_ To Beth.

Both girls walked away, talking about cakes and decorations. "I should go look after them." Carl quickly excused himself, following the girls into a cell.

Valery made sure that they were gone before asking Lori, "How Hershel?"

"Not as good as you." Lori admitted with a sad look as Carol picked up the plates. "Glenn and Maggie had been checking on him all night but he hasn't waked up yet. They are afraid that he'll turn and…"

"I hope he doesn't. I kind of like Beth." Valery admitted as she finished her breakfast. She looked up to Lori and added, "I'm sorry for pointing you with a gun."

Lori gave her a small smile before nodding. "It's on the past now, Valery. You were the one that brought us here and we are thankful for that."

"I'm sorry for kissing Rick, too." Valery blushed furiously as she said so, but Lori didn't seem to be angry.

Instead, the older woman looked down as she muttered, "I'm just glad he found someone he can trust. If he's going to…be with someone, I'm glad it's you." When Lori lifted her gaze, Valery realized her eyes were shining with tears. Carol gave Lori a reassuring arms squeeze and Valery finally understood everything.

"Hell no! You think I'm with Rick?" Valery asked and both women turned to her.

"It's just that you seem so alive and young and he…" Lori tried to explain and Valery blushed again.

"No! He's like…well he's cute okay? But I'm not into him. Besides, he's crazy about you!" Valery nervously tried to convince Lori.

"I'm not so sure about that." Lori said with a nervous giggle.

"I am! I mean, you could see it in his eyes when I pointed the gun at you." Valery insisted, "If he hadn't threatened to kill me if I did it again, I would prove it to you."

Lori chuckled again, and then excused herself, "Sorry, my hormones are playing tricks on me."

"So…when you said you were not into Rick. Did you mean you're more into crazy redneck hunters?" Carol asked with a mischievous grin as she sat down but Valery stood up abruptly.

"It's been a pleasure to talk to you, ladies." Valery quickly said as she tried to walk away.

"You can't do that!" Lori complained and Valery just grinned, "You have to tell us!". She was about to reply when they heard Robbie screaming.

Not minding the pain she felt with every step, she rushed to the direction where she had heard the screaming, followed by Carol and Lori. She saw Maggie and Beth crying in a corner and Glenn desperately trying to read Hershel's vitals. Roberta rushed to hug her mother and Valery couldn't do anything but to hug her back and watch Lori performing RCP on the old man. After a few excruciating seconds, Hershel finally began breathing again.

Valery decided the best way to help would be not to crowd the already reduced space and she pulled Roberta out of the cell. She wasn't sure what else to do but soon the gates opened and T-dog, Rick and Daryl stormed in. Valery couldn't repress a smile when she saw Daryl walking behind Rick.

"What happened?" Rick asked, noticing the commotion.

"Hershel stopped breathing and your wife saved him." Valery explained briefly. Rick tried to enter the cell, but Valery stopped him. She stared at his eyes and said with a low voice "You treat that woman right, Rick. I have no idea what did she ever did to you but you got to stop this attitude okay? She looks like a hippopotamus, her feet ache, her hormones are going crazy…that's enough punishment, alright?"

Rick nodded briefly and Valery moved aside to let him in. Then she noticed that Daryl was staring at her with an amused expression "Since when you and Grimmes are BFF's?"

"Shut up." Valery rolled her eyes. Roberta was still clenching to her leg so she caressed her head soothingly as she asked Daryl "How did it go?"

"We had to put down two of the prisoners and we can't trust the ones alive." Daryl confessed. He was tired and all he wanted to do was lie next to Valery. "One of them actually threw a walker to Rick and he put an axe right through his head."

"Good." Valery said. She felt not an inch of compassion towards the dead man. She noticed Robbie shivering and sighted.

"You should go back to bed." Daryl pointed out and Valery chuckled.

"Are you kidding? I just got up." She complained with a grin. The truth was that she was tired but she didn't wanted to walk all the way back to her cell. The bandage on her feet was stained with blood and she figured that she had pulled one of the stitches when she ran to the cell.

"C'om on, I'll help you." Daryl offered, quickly sweeping her off her foot and carrying her princess style.

"I will stop walking at all and then I can make you carry me everywhere." Valery joked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She loved the feeling of his strong arms holding her against his body. It made her feel protected. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest.

Daryl was feeling better. He just needed to forget about the walkers and the prisoners and everything. Right now all he could feel was Valery's warm body on his arms and he was enjoying the feeling. He heard Robbie´s footsteps following them closely and smiled. He liked Roberta. She was not like other kids, who cried and complained all day.

Finally they got to the cell and Daryl gently lied Valery's body on the mattress. He leaned back to let his body rest against the concrete wall and closed his eyes.

"I'm having a birthday party tomorrow." Roberta declared proudly and Daryl grinned without opening his eyes.

"Yeah? That's cool." He said with a tired voice. He was doing his best not to fall asleep. He had only rested a few hours last night because he was taking care of Valery and today he had to leave early with Rick, leaving him no time to even eat before going into the cell block. "Maybe I can scout into town tomorrow and find you some toys or shit."

"Really, that's awesome!" Robbie exclaimed with excitement. "I'll go tell Beth!" And with that she disappeared, leaving the two adults alone.

Daryl opened his eyes and saw Valery sitting on the bunk and staring at him. "You look tired." She said with a smile.

"I am exhausted, babe." He admitted with a grin.

"Here…" Valery extended her hand to him and he took it. Valery pulled him into the mattress and he sat next to her. He closed his eyes again and whispered, "I just want to sleep."

He felt Valery moving around him but he didn't open his eyes. In fact he was starting to fall asleep when he felt Valery's hands placed on top of his knees. His eyes hot open and he looked down to see Valery kneeled in front of his knees. "What are you doing?" he asked, swallowing hard.

Valery's eyes were darker than usual when she smiled innocently and said, "Just relax, Daryl." She then pushed his knees open and placed her body in between them. Daryl opened his mouth to say something but she did, Valery smashed her lips against his. Her tongue moved furiously trough his mouth and her essence was simply intoxicating. Daryl found himself craving for more and he tangled his fingers through her hair and pulled her closer. Valery's hand rambled down his neck, enjoying the warm of his body. Daryl felt himself getting more aroused with each second that passed and he tried to move his hands down to her boobs but Valery broke the kiss before he could make his move.

"No, thought guy. You only get to watch this time." She commanded as she undid his jeans without breaking the eye contact.

"Valery…" he practically had to drag her name out of his mouth because it was becoming hard to think as she slid her hand under his boxers and grabbed him. A loud moan came out of his mouth when he felt her warp her hands around him. "Any one could walk in and see us…" Daryl warned her, but Valery simply laughed.

She leaned in and whispered next to Daryl's ear, "That's the fun part." Then she started pumping and everything else became blurry for Daryl. It had been so long since anyone touched him like that (apart from his own hand) and it felt so good. Valery was going painfully slow, enjoying every moan that Daryl made and contemplating the ecstasy washing through his features. She enjoyed knowing she could cause him so much pleasure but it wasn't enough. She let go of he and he immediately opened his eyes, clearly annoyed she had stopped, "Now you know how it feels." She teased.

Valery considered cutting the action there but the disappointment on his eyes pleased her immensely. She wanted to make him feel good, to make him need her.

"Don't be cruel on me, doll." Daryl pleaded and Valery smiled. She slowly arranged her hair behind her ears and as she looked at Daryl, she lowered her face to his crotch. She felt him tensing when her warm breath hit him and his fingers dug on the mattress. "C'om on babe, ya killin me here."

Valery chuckled lightly before taking him into her mouth. She only placed her lips on his tip at the beginning, drawing circles with her tongue as Daryl moaned loudly. "Just get on with it, doll." He hurried her impatiently and she repressed the urge to laugh, "Do you always have to be so romantic?" she said.

Before he could reply she took his entire length into her mouth and started sucking gently. Soon she felt Daryl's hand around his neck, speeding her rhythm and using her mouth as a pump. It was clear that Daryl needed some release because after just a few minutes he came into her mouth with a loud growl. Valery swallowed and whipped the corners of her mouth. When she looked up, she saw Daryl smiling brightly, "That´s the first time I see you smiling."

"It's the first time in months that I have a reason to." Daryl defended himself as he grabbed Valery's shoulders and pulled her up to his lap. Valery curled against his chest, enjoying the sound of his beating heart, "Hey, it had been a long time since…" Daryl started explaining a little embarrassed, "…just give me another chance and I'll make ya scream my name, okay?"

Valery chuckled, looking up, "Don't worry, cowboy. You'll have your chance to prove you're worthy." She sweetly ran her fingers down his cheek as she said, "Now get some sleep and I'll get you some food."

"Never thought you´d be the girl to make a sandwich to yer man." Daryl pointed out as she stood up and he lied down with his hands crossed behind his head. Valery realized he was right. She had never been that type of girl but she figured one sandwich couldn't hurt.

"Daryl, you know we are not friends anymore, right?" Valery asked, suddenly insecure. She didn't want to be just a quick relief or a night stand.

"Of course not, doll." Daryl said with a frown watching her leaning against the gate. "We're super best friends now." He said with a grin.

Valery spotted a water bottle on the sink next to her and threw it straight into Daryl's face. "You cocky prick." She muttered as she left the cell with a smile plastered on her face.


	13. Lost and Found

Leyshla Gisel (Glad you liked the smut girl!) FanFicGirl10 (I know! I think Robbie is super sweet too!) Thanks to qlara and Gonetoosoonmichael for following this story! Also ladies and gentleman….Norman Reedus is following this story! LOL, whoever you are can I just say you have the most awesome pen name EVER! And now the bad news (kind of): I'm going to the beach next week and I won't be able to update in about a week and a half or so. I won't forget you guys and I'll try to update as soon as I can. If I can't update before the holidays, I wish you all a very happy Christmas -OOO-OOO-

Robbie opened her eyes and saw Valery's face smiling at her. "Happy birthday baby." Valery whispered as she hugged her daughter's body next to hers. It only lasted a few minutes because Valery stood up quickly and urged Robbie to do the same.

"Mom, I want to sleep!" Robbie wipped and Valery just chuckled.

"What about all those fun things you and Beth had planned to do?!" Valery asked as she brushed her hair into a high ponytail.

"It's nothing special, really." Roberta confessed as she sat on the bed. She's wearing one of Carl's shirts as she always did for sleep. During the day however, she had been wearing the scuba diving suit just for precaution but that day she wasn't looking forward to squeeze into the tight outfit. "We were just planning a few games and Beth promised she would sing a song to me."

"Well, last night I discovered the prisoners had some sugar and flower. Glenn says he saw some powdered chocolate on the store near the road and I'm sure if we both ask Daryl nicely he could look for some bird nest and get us some eggs." Valery smiled when she noticed the confusion on her daughter's face. "Your _bisabuela_ used to make a chocolate cake without milk. I don't really guarantee I can pull it off but Carol will definitely help and I guess anything with sugar could do."

"An actual birthday cake? Mami, are you serious?" Robbie asked with excitement as she jumped out of bed. "I have to go tell Carl and Beth!" Roberta announced before sprinting to the exit.

"_Esperate, nena!"_ Valery shouted and Robbie froze at the entrance of the cell. "Don't you think you should put some pants on?"

Robbie blushed as she realized her mother was right. She dug into the black backpack until she found her jeans. Then she saw the scuba diving suit at the button of the bag. She picked it up and asked her mother, "Do I really have to wear this? I don't think there's going to be any walkers today."

Valery hesitated but Robbie begged, _"Mami, porfis!"_

"Fine, but just for today." Valery agreed and then approached her daughter and placed a kiss on her temple, _"Feliz cumple, princesa."_

After congratulating her daughter again, Valery decided to go downstairs. Everyone else was already there. Valery took a plate of powdered eggs from Carol and then searched for a seat. She noticed Daryl was sitting on the stairs but when he looked her ways she immediately fixed her eyes on the ground and blushed. When Valery had returned the day before to give Daryl his sandwich she found him snoring. She figured he could use some rest after their "relaxation" session and left the sandwich next to him before leaving. Now the memories of the hot session were storming into her mind causing her to blush furiously.

Daryl noticed her embarrassment and with a big grin he decided to get her attention. When she passed in front of the stairs, he quickly extended his arm and pulled her into his lap. Valery let out a small cry of surprise as she tried not to drop the dish. Then she laughed and planted a kiss on Daryl's lips that he didn't hesitate to return.

"I guess now we know why he was smiling like an idiot earlier." Daryl heard T-dog whisper.

When they finally broke the kiss, Valery ignored the eyes glued on them and started eating cheerfully. Daryl noticed he wasn't the only one happy that morning. As Rick had announced, Hershel was conscious and with no desire to eat them. Daryl also noticed that Rick had kissed Lori's cheek when he joined the group for breakfast and you could tell that she was pleasantly surprised by the gesture. Carl had found a half deflated soccer ball and he hugged it tightly to his chest as he ate his eggs. The most excited person was Robbie who came in singing something about a chocolate cake.

The little girl was congratulated by everyone in the table and then she approached the couple sitting on the stairs. She looked at Daryl and shyly said, "Val said you could find some eggs to make my cake."

"Err…sure, I guess. Just let me ask Rick and I'll go into town." Daryl responded with nervousness. He was never sure how to act among children. "Happy birthday kid." He simply said and Robbie gave him a bright smile. Then she quickly placed a kiss on his cheek, which made him blush.

Valery watched the scene and smiled. It was nice to see Daryl and Robbie getting along. Despite the good news however, there was still work to do. Rick quickly organized a group of persons to go check the fence and burn the walker's bodies. Both Daryl and Valery volunteered and followed the party outside where Rick started giving orders and organizing tasks. His speech was interrupted by the sound of cheering. Everyone turned around to see Hershel walking outside the cell block. Then they watched a few more minutes as Carl and Robbie began a soccer game.

Carl played the goalkeeper and Robbie tried to score but it was soon clear that the game wasn't exactly balanced. Robbie practically danced around with the ball, guiding it exactly where she wanted it to be and quickly scoring a few points.

"Damn, she's good!" Rick said with a smile as he shielded his face from the sun and observed the kids play. Robbie had just recovered the ball again and she was doing tricks as she advanced towards the goal as Carl was trying to stop her without any success.

Valery chuckled and then sheered and clapped when Robbie scored again, "Your kid has no chance Rick! It's on her blood." Valery mocked as Rick smiled.

"Don't let her score, Carl!" Glenn shouted but Valery just shook her head.

"Told you, they have no chance!" She giggled as she added, "Her father was the best player I've ever seen. Watching him playing was beautiful, he made love to the ball as he ran. It was just…great. Leon was great." Valery seemed happy but there was a light sparkle of sadness on her eyes that only Daryl noticed.

He realized he had never asked about Robbie's father. Had he been around when the dead started rising? If so, why he wasn't around now? How would he look? Daryl felt jealousy taking over his mind. He pushed the thought away. Daryl and Valery were …well, he had no idea what they were and they weren't so many choices out there to worry about the exclusiveness of their relationship. So why did he felt the need to kiss her until she forgot about every other man? Where has this desire to make Valery his?

Valery smiled brightly at him, completely unaware of his thoughts. "Don't think too hard, handsome. You're gonna have a stroke." Valery warned him as Glenn and Rick tried to hide their grins.

Suddenly Rick's expression changed. He had spotted the large group of walkers heading to where the kids were playing. To where Lori was standing. "Lori!" he screamed, making signals to his wife. Valery panicked. She watched in slow motion how the walkers approached the group and how everyone broke into panic. She saw Hershel and Beth struggling to get back to the cell block and Maggie, Lori and Carl going in the other direction.

"Roberta!" Valery screamed as she ran at full speed behind Rick. As the leader struggled to open the gates, she frenetically looked around for her daughter, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Daryl I can't see her!" Valery cried out desperately as she hopefully looked up to the hunter.

Daryl couldn't spot the little girl either. He did saw Carol however and his heart started beating furiously. The next seconds were chaotic. He was barely aware of the alarms hollering and the walkers surrounding them. One of the prisoners apparently knew how to turn off the alarms and Rick followed him immediately. Daryl was about to do the same when he realized that Valery was standing on her place without moving. Panic was written all over her face as she doubted between her options. Daryl grabbed her shoulders and tried to shook her out of her shock as he said "Come with us, Val!"

"Robbie…" she whispered but Daryl shook his head.

"We'll find her later. I promise." Daryl dragged Valery trying not to think about the last time he had promised a mom to find her child.

-OOO-OOO-OOO-

It was dark; that was all Robbie could tell about the place where she was. When the attack began she had intended to follow Beth and Hershel because they were the ones closer to her but a gigantic prisoner with half of his face missing had blocked her way. She had always been fast and she spotted an open grillage on one of the buildings. It was just a few meters ahead of the walker's crowd approaching. Robbie ran as fast as she could and she managed to reach the grillage. Once there she started crawling into the opening even if she couldn't see anything.

The space was claustrophobic and she had barely the space to lie down and crawl through the tunnel. Robbie realized it was some kind of vent because of the metallic noise the floor made when she moved. It was scary enough to be crawling in the dark through a claustrophobic space but then she heard a weird noise. She stopped for a minute and her heart skipped a beat when she realized there was someone else crawling behind her. She couldn't change her position to defend herself and she couldn't even see what she was fighting against.

She tried to move faster, barely holding back the tears. Robbie had never been more scared on her life. There was a loud moan behind her and something grabbed her leg. She cried when she felt she was being pulled back. She didn't hesitate. If she was going down, she was going down fighting. At least she figured that would give her mom some sense of comfort. She kicked back just like a horse would do. Her free feet hit the air but she felt the creature tightening its grip around her ankle. Robbie tried again and this time her shoe hit something. She felt the fingers of the walker digging into the fabric of her jeans and she regretted not wearing the scuba diving suit.

Roberta kicked back about a dozen times and even after she felt the grip on her leg loosening, she continued hitting. Tears were now streaming down her face. Finally her she heard a loud "crak" and her shoe sank into something wet and warm. Robbie realized she had finally broken the skull of the walker and the thought of having its brains all over her feet made her gag a few times. She wanted her mom to come and get her. "Mom! Moooom! Please, anyone!" she cried out with desperation. Then she heard more noises and realized that the walker was not alone. Clearly some of the creatures had gotten inside the vent and Robbie realized she had to keep moving.

She crawled as fast as she could. The body of the walker she had killed had blocked the path for the rest of the geeks, giving her a small advantage. She was moving so fast she didn't realized when the vent ended and she fell into some kind of open room. Robbie had landed on her right wrist and she felt something cracking and then a sting of pain. She cried out, holding her hand.

"Who's there?" a familiar voice asked.

Robbie sat up and cried out, "Please don't hurt me."

"Robbie?" the voice asked and Robbie heard a set of footsteps walking towards her. She recognized the voice and tried to reach out for a hug.

"Carol!" Roberta broke down in tears when she felt the woman hugging her.

"Shh, baby it's okay." Carol soothed her as she embraced her tightly and Roberta sobbed. "We're going to be fine."

They heard some noised and Roberta warned, "There's a vent above us, that's how I got here. I think there's some walkers inside it." The little girl felt Carol pulling away and panicked, "No! Don't leave me!"

"I have to close the vent, Robbie. I'll be right here." Carol calmed her. Robbie couldn't see her but she heard her struggling to close the opening. "It's done. They can't get us anymore." Carol said as she hugged Robbie again.

"Where are we?" Roberta asked shyly.

"I don't know baby, I don't know." Carol confessed as she curled up against Robbie.

-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-

When Maggie came out of the cell block holding a baby, Valery completely lost it. After shutting down the alarms and killing a prisoner, Valery had insisted in coming back quickly. She felt her heart racing when Beth told her Robbie wasn't with them.

"She might be with Carl, Lori and Maggie." Beth suggested. Valery said nothing.

"Carol and T-dog didn't made it either." Hershel pointed out.

Daryl felt a sharp sting of pain on his chest. He tried to act normal but he couldn't push away from his mind the image of the fragile woman being tore apart by the geeks.

"I'm going to get them." Rick announced before walking to the cell block.

Daryl gave a worried look to Valery. She was just staring at the horizon with an empty look. He didn't want to leave her alone but he figured that the sooner they found Robbie, the sooner she would go back to normal. "I'm coming with ya, Rick."

The two men were about to get going when they saw Maggie walking out of the cell block. She was holding a baby and Carl was walking behind her with the eyes fixed on the ground. "No." Rick quietly said. Then his expression broke down into a dozen of different emotions and his next scream was completely heart breaking. "No!"

Rick walked around crying as the rest of the group tried to assimilate the news. "Was Robbie with you?" Valery asked Carl and he shook his head slowly.

Then Valery started looking around for clues, trying to find out where her daughter might be. Then she saw it. Behind the gate that T-dog had closed, about a hundred walkers pressed their rotten bodies against the fence. However, there was a small group that gathered around something on the wall of the third cell block. Daryl saw the scene as well and he tried to stop Valery, but she was already walking towards the gate with a decided expression.

"Shit!" Daryl cursed as he followed her. "Valery hold on." But Valery ignored him and she jumped over the gate gracefully. The walkers immediately tried to attack her but Daryl quickly shot down the ones closer to them. As the mother walked to the small crowd near the wall, Daryl realized he would run out of bolts quickly. "God damn it Val, she might not even be there!"

Valery ignored him. She had spotted the little opening on the door and she stabbed and pushed away the walkers that were trying to get it. She wasn't even aware of how many times did their decaying teeth or eager fingers grazed her skin. All she cared about was to find her daughter, one way or the other. Finally the entrance was clear and Valery bravely started crawling inside. She had advanced just a few inches when she realized how tight and dark the space was. Terrified, she tried to go back.

Then she felt the stinky warm breath of a walker in front of her and screamed with terror. Something pulled her back and she tried to quick it away. It wasn't until she was completely out of the tunnel when Valery realized it had been Daryl the one who pulled her out. She watched him stab the walker's head. "That place is filled with geeks. Ain't no way your kid is in there." He reasoned as he helped her up and pushed her back to the safe zone.

Valery felt nothing but numbness as they jumped over the gate. Once she was on the other side she realized that what Daryl meant was: _Ain't no way your kid is alive in there._

Robbie was dead. Probably.

Most likely.

Valery debated between her options until she felt Daryl's strong arms around her. She turned back and buried her face into his chest. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt the wetness on his shirt.


	14. Nobody's King

**Michelle Andolini and crisscross78 I'd like to thank you for following this story! And as always letmefallasleep, FanFicGirl10, Leyshla Gisel**

**I know! The birthday party was supposed to happen actually but the last chapter sort of wrote itself! I kind of feel bad for Robbie, thought but I'm glad that the three of you liked the little twist! NormanReedus, I'm so happy you are addicted to this little story, means a lot!**

**Also, quick note. I'm going to the beach on a few days and I don't think I'll be able to update before New Year. I feel terrible but I hope that you will continue reading!**

**Anyway, happy Christmas to all of you **

_**I hate to break it to you babe**__**  
**__**But I'm not drowning**__**  
**__**There's no one here to save**__****_

_**Who cares if you disagree**__**  
**__**You are not me**__**  
**__**Who made you king of anything**__**  
**__**So you dare tell me who to be**__**  
**__**Who died**__**  
**__**And made you king of anything?**_

_**-OoO-OOO-OOO-**_

The echo of the baby's cries was driving Valery insane. "Can't you just shut her up?" Valery asked as she buried her face on Daryl's shoulder. They were cuddled up in a bunk. Valery had stopped crying almost immediately. Then she had insisted on going to get Robbie three times but all three times she suffered panic attacks whenever she entered the vent.

Now she was just mad.

An unexplainable feeling of fury invaded her. She wanted to yell at someone, to hit something. But at the same time, she felt unable to move. It was like if this numbness had invaded her and she couldn't shake it off. Every move she made was on slow motion.

Daryl just hugged her tighter. "She's just hungry, babe." Daryl sighted. He wanted to remind everyone that he had feelings too; that he had also lost friends that morning. Carol was out there somewhere, probably with missing part of her body and looking for flesh to devour. Robbie…he doubted there was any of her left. That last image brought an unbearable pressure inside his chest, probably due to the tears he was holding back. However he knew that eight now the group needed a leader. He couldn't afford to break down our now.

"Daryl?" A shy voice called and Daryl looked up to see Maggie standing at the door. "I´m really sorry but the baby needs to be fed immediately. I could take Glenn if you'd like but..." Maggie looked terrible and Daryl wondered what kind of images flashed trough her mind whenever she closed his eyes. Probably not good ones.

"No, I'll go." Daryl agreed as he sat up, pulling Valery up as well.

Maggie wasn't leaving. She doubted before blurting out, "I know it's a bad time but my dad needs to rest and Beth it's doing the best she can but since you had a baby… Val maybe you could watch her?"

Daryl quickly turned to Valery, who remained emotionless. She nodded softly and tried to stand up but Daryl grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"You don't have ta. Beth can handle just fine if you don't feel up for it." Daryl tried not to sound worried but the truth was that the emptiness on the girl's eyes scared him. It was not natural that she was so calmed after losing her daughter.

Valery rolled her eyes as she asked, "What are you trying to say?" Daryl didn't answered quick enough because she yanked her hand away and repeated, "Just say it, Daryl!"

Daryl looked down as he explained, "That baby is all Rick and Carl have. If something happens to her…"

"Oh my God." Valery said with an humorless laugh. "You think I would hurt that baby? Jeez, thanks for the trust, Daryl!" Valery exclaimed as she stormed out of the place. "I'm not a freaking psycho!" she screamed from the hallway.

Daryl sighted and Maggie offered a sympathetic smile, "That went well…"

"Fuck her, we got to find some milk before that baby drives me mad." Daryl stood up and collected his crossbow.

Meanwhile Valery went to the cell downstairs where Hershel, Carl and Beth were sitting together. Maggie was right, they all looked like shit. Beth specially was fighting to keep her eyes open as she rocked the baby lightly. "Dude, you need to sleep." Valery pointed out and then she extended her hands. Beth actually clenched the baby tighter to her chest, which did nothing but upset Valery even more, "Come on, how long will you last without sleep? And Santa Close here has to rest that leg…" Hershel gave Beth a slight nod and she finally surrendered the infant.

"_Gracias…"_ Valery thanked as she tried to find the right position to hold the little girl. The baby had worn out her energies with all the crying so now she sleep peacefully; which was a good thing because from the moment Valery received the baby, she felt a strange impulse to smack it against the floor. She pushed the thoughts away and focused on Carl, "You should go outside and help Glenn looking after the new guys."

Carl nodded, happy to be treated as an adult. Valery decided the best thing she could do was join Carl because Herhsel was already eyeing her suspiciously. She walked near Carl in silence until they reached the door. There the kid turned around and declared, "If it's worthy, I don't think Robbie is dead." Carl ignored Valery's surprised look and continued, "I think she's just hiding somewhere. She's too smart to die."

Valery wasn't sure what to reply, so she simply nodded. They exited the cell block into the front yard where both prisoners were discussing something with Glenn.

Carl spotted the shovels on their hands, "What are they doing?"

"Gardening?" Valery suggested, deciding to sit down in the grass. "Go see if they need help."

Carl walked away and Valery was left alone with the baby. She looked down to the little human being resting on her hands. The baby was so small it surprised her. Everything about her seemed so new, so perfect. so out of place. She was so little. It was completely unfair to be so little on a world so cruel. She would have to see so many terrible things. She would have to do so many atrocious things. She would lose so many people she love...wouldn't it be better to end it all now?

Now that she was still innocent, that she hadn't lost anyone yet, that she was too young to even start comprehending the cruelness of the world...It would be so easy. She could just place her hand over her little face. At first she would struggle but eventually she would drift off to a peaceful sleep. It would be so easy...

"Excuse me ma'am." Valery would have jumped back if she was standing when the prisoner spoke. She hadn't heard the new guys approaching. The blonde one didn't seem to notice her commotion because he continued talking, "We were just thinking it would be a nice thing to dig some graves for your friends." Axel offered a polite smile. "You know, so they are not forgotten."

"Yeah, yeah, you do that." Valery nodded, trying to scare them away. Axel smiled again before he started walking away. Valery then realized something and she quickly stood up. "Wait! Don't dig one for Robbie."

Axel just nodded again, "As you wish ma'am." He noticed then that his partner hadn't move. "Are you coming, Oscar?"

"In a minute." The man answered and waited for his friend to walk away before turning to Valery, who had sit back on the ground. "Can I sit here with you?"

"If you have to." There was no hostility on her voice but no fear either. It was a nice change for Oscar.

"You're the first person who doesn't seem afraid of us." Oscar pointed out and he could have sworn there was a ghost of a smile on Valery's face.

"I have lived all my life surrounded by criminals." She gave him a second look and added, "I think I can tell which the dangerous ones are."

Oscar looked curious, "Which was it? Boyfriend, father or brother?"

Valery smirked. "Brother. He was a drug dealer and only god knows what else." She snorted before adding, "I know it sounds stupid, but he was a good man. He had this stupid rules. Never sold to woman or kids even if it meant losing a couple grands."

"So you believe I redemption?" Oscar guessed but Valery shook her head slowly.

"I believe there's more than black and white in this world." Valery sighted and added, "That we do what we can with what we have."

"The little one, was she your daughter?" Oscar asked with a low voice. Valery liked him already. She didn't felt like he was judging her and lately everyone around her seemed to do exactly that. Valery just nodded and she looked away to hide the tears stinging on her eyes. "I wouldn't let them dig a grave either. I'd look for her and I wouldn't stop until I found her…one way or another."

"You know, I've been around criminals too and I'd tell you most of them aren't even evil. They just made shitty decisions." Oscar continued, talking mostly to himself. "After a while however, you start seeing this look on their eyes. It's like they are empty or something. A defeated man is a dangerous one because he has nothing to lose."

Valery wanted to say something to him. She want him to know that she knew he was talking about her. She wanted to thank him for not judging, for being there. Instead she remained silent until the man stood up and shook the dirt off his pants, "That's a beautiful baby. Gives you hope, right?"

Oscar then started walking away but Valery quickly made up her mind. "Could you stay?" Oscar looked back and saw Valery's button lip trembling, "I don't know if I'm capable of…please, just for a second."

-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-

It was dark when Daryl and Maggie came back. Beth hurried to heat the milk. Daryl could hear the baby crying but he couldn't see her. Finally he spotted Valery holding her next to the taller prisoner.

"Here, hold her." Valery offered Daryl the baby and he doubted. "Please Daryl, take her." Daryl took the baby without saying anything but he noted that Oscar had placed a supportive hand on Valery's shoulder.

Beth then handed the bottle to Daryl and he carefully feed the baby. He had no idea how to handle something so small and fragile. But he didn't want to give her up. "Little ass kicker. That would be a good name, right?"

Everyone chuckled but Valery. She was hypnotized by the image of Daryl holding the baby. Nothing bad could happen to that baby if she had Daryl Dixon as a guardian, Valery reasoned.

"I'm going to look for Robbie." Valery declared confidently. She had already turned around when Daryl spoke.

"It's too dark, babe." Daryl noticed her staring and quickly said, "We'll keep looking for Robbie in the morning, I promise. Even if I have to get into that filthy hell hole myself."

Valery didn't say anything. Deep down she knew that he was right but she didn't wanted to admit it. However she knew that anything she said right now would start a fight and she didn't want to fight with Daryl right now. So she walked to the table and grabbed some stuff. Then she looked at the rest of the group and said, "I should get Rick some food."

No one tried to stop her. She walked to the boil room and froze what she heard voices on the other side of the door. Valery pressed her face with the door and heard every word. She heard rick apologizing to Lori and then crying out with desperation. She waited until everything was silent to come in. rick was sitting on the floor with one hand over his eyes and the other one holding an old telephone.

"So how does it work?" Valery asked but rick made no attempt to answer. Valery walked and sat next to him. "You pick up the phone and confess your sins?" Rick growled and Valery tried to take the phone. "Let me try."

"Why Val?" Rick finally spoke up. When he saw Valery she detected something in his eyes. _A defeated man is a dangerous one because he has nothing to lose_. "Do you have any?"

Valery sighted. She decided this was a good time as any to finally come clean. "Actually..." She hugged her legs and then chuckled, "Do you want to listen?"

Not really but I don't want to talk either." Rick admitted, sounding painfully tired. Valery offered him the package of cookies and the soda can and he took them.

"How do we start?" Valery asked him with a smile.

"I don't know. I mean, it's your confession." Rick reasoned.

"Aright." Valery sighted and then said. "Well, his name was Bobby."

Rick chuckled and Valery gave him a skeptical look. "An affair? How lame…" he said as he opened the can of coke.

"I thought you didn't want to talk." Valery raised an eyebrow before continuing. "He wasn't my lover, Rick. He was only six."

There was a long silence before she decided to speak up. When she finally did, it was barely a whisper. "I killed him."

Rick sighted as he confessed, "I put down a little girl too. She was one of the first persons I saw after waking up. I thought she was alive until she turned around and then I saw what the freaks had done to her."

"You're not getting it!" Valery said with frustration. Then she looked at Rick and stated, "I killed him. He wasn't bitten he wasn't a threat. I killed him." Valery felt actually relieved to share the secret that had been eating her insides since the beginning of the apocalypse. "And I don't care if you want to listen but I need to talk…"

-OOO-OOO-OOO-

**Guys I'm afraid I'm going to leave you with a cliffhanger! But I promise next chapter will finally reveal the truth about everything and possibly some fluff. So be good and maybe Santa will give you a Daryl Dixon!**

**Happy Christmas!**


	15. Skeletons in my closet

Hey guys! I just came back from the beach and I have a killer tan, lots of dirty laundry to do and many ideas for the story! I missed you all while I was away though I do have mixed feelings about this chapter. There's hardly any Daryl on it but I promise I'll make it up to you on the next chapter.

Lot's of thanking to do!

**FanFicGirl10** you kind of guessed my plot! I did understood what Shane did even if I don't approve it. **NormanReedus** sorry for the cliffhanger! By the way I'm totally staying up late today to read your story as I promised. **Letmefallasleep** you'll have to read to find out ;) and I agree completely. Not every though guy is bad. **Leyshla Gisel **I'm happy I blew up your mind hehe.

**Regin** and **Laaurwtf**

thanks for following this! And **Arugula Pacioli** you're awesome! You're reviews made me smile. I'm glad you like the way I build up Valery's character. And I'm sorry for the spelling mistake, I'll look into it immediately.

-OOO-OOO-

When Valeria started talking it was obvious to Rick that she had her mind set on a different time and place. Her eyes were empty and her voice was barely a whisper.

"It might seem like a weir choice, but the first place I went after being separated from my family was the house of my ex employer"

Rick offered a weak smile as he said "Well, you must had a great dental plan"

Valery's lips curved up, "Isn't that what serial killers do? Go back to the places where they feel safe?"

"First, you're not a serial killer and second..." He rolled his eyes, " You watch too much criminal minds"

"Leon used to work for my brother but when I got pregnant he quit because it was too dangerous. Thiago wasn't too happy about it, but he accepted it after a while. Then Leon got shot and he left me with a pile of debts to pay. I took the first job I found, cleaning houses for rich ladies. It was just enough to keep my head above water. When Robbie was two, I met Mrs. Lavonn." Valery smiled when she added, "She was a bitch."

Rick snorted and Valery continued, "but she had a little grandchild. When I arrived he was just a baby and I thought he would be a nice way to keep Rob busy while I worked. Nobody seemed to care much about him anyway. His grandma only made sure that he had food and clothes and his mother was always on some cruise or vacation. He learned Spanish quickly and Robbie treated him like a little brother. The kids were completely opposite, though. Bob was rather quiet and obedient. He had blue eyes and blonde curls that gave him an innocent look. Robbie on the other hand _is._..?" Valery chocked up and her eyes watered when she tried the alternative_," Was..?"_

"She _**is**_quite a character." Rick reassured, feeling sorry for the girl. "I thought Daryl was stubborn until I met your daughter."

Valery rolled her eyes as she whipped away the tears that threatened to escape her eyes."It was her idea to go back for Bobby that day. When we got to the house, the door was open. I told Robbie to wait outside but you know her. So after rushing in after her we both stopped at the kitchen. There was Mrs. Lavonn, clenching over the sink and devouring Don Pedro, the gardener. I don't remember who screamed first if me or Robbie but after she saw us, Mrs. Lavonn went straight after us. I ran and so did Robbie. Luckily, the bitch decided I was more tasteful. She practically tackled me down when I was about to reach the stairs. My head hit one of the steps, knocking me down for a few seconds. What brought me back was the feeling if her slimy gross saliva running down my neck. She was ready to take a bite when I managed to roll over. I hit her head repeatedly with the back of my elbow until I heard a cracking sound and felt something warm and sticky on my arm." Valery tilted her head to give Rick an amused look. "It sound terrible but I kind of enjoyed it. I didn't even looked back to see if she was dead. Instead I ran through the rooms calling for my daughter. Finally I heard a whisper coming from the master bedroom's closet. Robbie was there and Bobbie too."

There was a pause. Rick realized that Valery seemed to be recreating the scene on her mind. Suddenly, everything about her became softer; even her voice sounded different when she continued, "The smaller kid was terrified and he immediately extended his arms for me to lift him." She closed her eyes, envisioning the little arms extended towards her. Her face crinkled with pain and Rick placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I took both kids out of the house and we hit the road together. Everything was relatively fine until the car broke down in the middle of nowhere forcing us to carry on by foot. Winter was just around the corner and the cold temperatures were wearing us down. I had to carry both the supplies and Bobbie on my back because he had a terrible cold. Somewhere along the cold evolved into something worse. He was burning up with fever and every time he breathed there was a disturbing whistling noise on his chest. Robbie tried to talk him to keep him awake but I could tell she was as scared as I."

"If he was sick there was nothing you could have done for him, Val" Rick tried to offer some comfort but the young girl shook her head.

"He didn't die because of the cold. In fact the day of his dead he seemed to be doing better. He woke up and ate a little and even talked to Robbie. I thought he was going to make it but then..." for the first time, Valery's voice broke off. "I'd never seen so many of them together. They surprised us, overwhelming my gun with their number." Valery made a pause and Rick squeezed her shoulder  
"After they ran out of food in the cities they started diving into the woods." He explained, not really sure what else to say.

"I tried to take everything with me but after just a few meters I had to give up the supplies because they were slowing us down. I could barely run with Bobbie on my arms but he was still too weak to walk. His little fingers barely hanged around my neck. Robbie was doing okay thou, she was even going ahead of the group. But then she twisted her ankle. She tried to stand up but she could barely limp. The walkers were upon us and I tried to carry both children on my arms but I couldn't do it. Robbie screamed when one of the walkers started pulling her hair back. I had to take a decision. We were outnumbered and those things were not going to stop until they got what they wanted. Robbie screamed again and I closed my eyes, kneeling on the floor. I could feel their decayed fingers grazing my back." Valery spoke quickly as if she wanted to confess as soon as possible. Rick had stopped breathing. He already knew what she had done but he couldn't tell her to stop.

"I finally did what I had to. I kissed Bobbies little head before I..." she covered her face and started sobbing hysterically as she said," I threw him at the walkers! _Dios mio, que hice?!" V_alery was sobbing so badly now that her whole body was shaking.

Rick didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted to hate Valery but at the end what she had done had kept her family alive and Rick could relate to that. He finally decided that he had no right to judge her actions and pulled her against his chest. Valery wrapped her hands around his neck and buried her face on his chest. None of them knew for how long they remained like that but finally Valery run out of tears. She continued her story with a cold steady voice," I tried to save him. I turned around and fired, trying to end his suffering. But my hands were shaking so bad that I missed the shot. I tried to fire again but I had no ammo. I pulled Robbie up and keep running without looking back even though I... I could hear him screaming, Rick." Valery's fingers dogged into his skin and Rick felt a knot shaping on his throat. I heard him pleading me not to leave and I... _Dios mio_..." Valery's voice was barely a whimper. Rick pulled her on to his lap and embraced her tightly as he rocked both of their bodies back and forth. "Maybe that's why I lost Robbie. Maybe it's a punishment for what I did..." Valery suggested.

Rick cupped her face and gently forced her to look at him. "No, listen to me. What happen to Robbie and... to Lori…it was none of our fault." Rick realized his vision was blurry and he could barely hold back the tears when he continued, "It's a fucked up world, Val. There was not a right answer for your situation. And maybe both of us are sinner but we are sinners for love and that's almost honorable. You'll find your daughter and when you do, you'll realize it was worthy."

Valery nodded as the tears rolled down her face. "What about you?"

Rick offered her a sad smile as he confessed, "I´m not sure I have anything left."

"Don't be stupid. What about Carl and the baby?"

"They need their mom more that they need me. Even I need their mom. I need someone to look at me the way Daryl looks at you." Rick looked down and noticed that Valery avoided his look and blushed.

"Yeah and how is that?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Like he believes in you. You give that man a reason to wake up every morning and try to be a better man. You are what keep him sane in the middle of this madness. I used to have that but now it's gone. Lori is gone, Val." Saying out loud brought a sting of pain to his heart.

"I know. But you need to promise me you won't give up." Valery looked up and smiled weakly. "Please?"

Rick nodded slowly and Valery pressed her face against his chest. The time passed and Rick felt her breathing falling into the steady and constant rhythm of sleep. He waited until he was sure she wouldn't wake up before speaking up to the figure standing in the dark, "How long have you been standing there?"

Daryl advanced into the weak light that filtered through the only window of the room covered with bars. He walked towards Rick and kneeled down beside him. "Long enough." He simply explained as he carried Valery up.

The young girl lazily wrapped her hands around his neck without opening her eyes. "Ya should check on your daughter. Now that she has stopped crying she looks kind of cute." Daryl joked and Rick smiled.

When Daryl had turned back, Rick finally spoke, "She loves you, you know?"

"She has a funny way to show it then." Daryl smirked as he looked down at Valery. She looked so peaceful and innocent it made his heart warm up. Without turning back he said, " I know you're grieving and shit but if I find you snuggling and cuddling with her again, I' ll kick yar teeth off."

Rick chuckled lightly as the hunter walked away but before he left, Rick asked, "Do you love her, Daryl?"

Daryl hesitated before answering. Was this love? Maybe. He had never felt so protective and attached to anyone. He simply couldn't remember the life before Valery and he couldn't imagine a future without her. Another time maybe he would refuse to accept but on the last days he realized nothing was granted in this world. Slowly and almost whispering he confessed, "I have ta. Bitch stole my fucking heart."

Daryl left a note for Valery. Still, he knew she would be disappointed not to wake up next to him. The thought made him smile. Besides, Valery would probably forgive him when he came back carrying Robbie on his shoulders. Because he was going to find her. He had set him mind on it.

Or at least he had been sure this morning. Now he was preparing himself for all the possible outcomes. He was 99.9% sure he would find answers behind that door. That's why he had sent Carl and Oskar away. He wanted to deal with it on his own. He wasn't sure he would be able to take down Carol or Robbie if they had turned….

"And you'll never know if you don't open the damn door." He reasoned out loud, finally finding the courage to stand up and open the door.

Suddenly something came running out of the cell and attached to his leg. He looked down to see a dirty little face with a pair of familiar black eyes covered in tears. He immediately kneeled and hugged the little girl tightly.

"_Tenía tanto miedo, Daryl! Y estaba oscuro y Carol me decía que todo iba a estar bien y …y…"_ Roberta blurted out phrases in Spanish in between her sobbing.

Daryl smirked when he looked into the cell and saw that Carol was looking at him with a tired but relieved look. Daryl patted Roberta's back awkwardly as he tried to calm her down, "Slow down kiddo…it´s okay now. Let's take you back to your mom."

"_Thank you."_ Carol mouthed silently.

**So that's it. Any thoughts on Valery's actions? I don't want you guys to hate her, she's only human. But I promise a chapter filled with smut and fluff for next week!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	16. My Type of Girl

**So…I got mixed reviews on last chapter and honestly, I liked that. I mean, it's obvious that Valery's actions were more than questionable and I knew that they would cause some polemic. But I can tell you how happy it makes me feel that you took the time to reflect on the character and question her actions. It means that you appreciate my writing and I love that!**

**NormanReedus****:** awr, I'm glad to be back too! **Letmefallasleep:** I think that Valery acted out of instinct, I don't think she even thought it through. I'm glad to see you understood her actions. P.D, I liked Shane too. **FanFicGirl10: **I just love to make our hunter jealous! **Leyshla Gisel:** I felt so bad I almost cried while typing it

**Shellyme:** I will reply to your PM here because I think you have a valid point. I doubted about writing out last chapter because I wondered of how people would see Valery after it. Finally I decided to stick up to my original vision. I'm glad you liked the way I wrote it though. And I realized you were right: the conversation would work better with Oscar, I just never thought of it!

And **jocie161** thanks for joining us!

**UPDATE: This story is officialy my top reviewed, thank you guys!**

-OoO-ooO-

It took five seconds for Valery to flip out when she saw the little stumbling figure walking behind Daryl, who had Carol on his arms. When she saw her daughter, Valery immediately dropped the bottle of milk she was holding and ran towards Robbie. "Roberta!" She screamed as she ran, afraid that Robbie would just vaporize on the air, like an illusion. When she was a few meters away, she let her body fall flat on her knees and slide right in front to her daughter, who immediately collapsed on her arms.

Valery clenched to Robbie's body and kissed her daughter's head as tears ran down her face. Robbie was sobbing as well, finally feeling safe. Roberta realized that even in the middle of a fucked up world like this, her mother's arms would always feel like a safe haven to her. Slowly she felt the little strength she had left abandoning her body. Valery felt her collapsing and immediately panic.

"Help! Somebody help me!" she screamed at the group, which had fallen into a confused chaotic state to receive Carol. Quickly, Beth and Oskar rushed towards Valery and kneeled to her side.

"Val, let me have a look." Beth ordered as she tried to get Valery to release Robbie's hug from her embrace. Valery resisted. She was afraid that if she lost sight of Robbie for an split second, she might lose her again forever.

"It's okay, girl." Oscar softly whispered next to her ear as gently tried to undo Valery's grip on Robbie. Slowly, Valery let go and Beth was able to lay down Robbie's body on the concrete. "It's okay. It's okay." Oscar repeated as he drew soft circles on Valery's back. "She's beautiful, you know? Even dehydrated and exhausted."

The last phrase made Valery chuckle. Beth looked up to her and announced with a smile, "She's going to be okay, Val. She just need some rest."

Valery nodded but the tears kept flowing down her face. She wasn't usually an emotional person but this was the second time she cried her heart out on a same day. Oscar noticed she needed time to pull herself together and offered, "I'll take her to the cell and bring her some water okay?"

"Thank you." Valery chocked out in between sobs.

Daryl watched the whole scene from the distance. After he went in, Carol was quickly scooped off his arms, leaving him to stand on a corner with nothing to do as the rest of the group celebrated. He watched Valery collapse and decide to give her a few minutes alone before slowly walking to her. "Are you done being a psycho? Damn, I thought you'd be happy to have yar lil' girl back and instead you just sit there and cry? Hell, if I had known that…"

Daryl was suddenly unable to speak because Valery stood up and smashed her lips against his with such strength he had to take a step back. But he recovered quickly and he placed his hands on her lower back as she ran her fingers through his hair. The sweet taste of her lips was mixed with her salty tears and when they both pulled away to take air Daryl noticed her eyes were glossy. "Damn babe, don't be sad." He gently pulled away a loose stand of hair that was brushing her face.

"I'm not sad silly! I'm happy, don't you see?" Valery asked with a bright smile before kissing him again softly. Someone then announced that Robbie had woken up and that she was asking for her mom. Valery turned to Daryl and tiptoed to reach his ear and whispered, "Tonight, I'll get you the welcome you deserve."

And with nothing but that, she left him standing there.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO

Valery felt a little guilty. Even though Hershel had assured her Robbie would be fine and that she was probably so exhausted she could use some alone time to catch up with her sleep, Valery felt like she should be there with her. On the other hand, the last couple days had been filled with emotions and she needed to get them out somehow. That's why she was doing this even though she felt terribly self conscious and cold…awfully cold.

Still, it was all worthy when Daryl walked into the cell and she heard him gasping with surprise. Of course he had notice something was off when Beth told him Valery had a surprise for him on his cell with her face bright red. But he hadn't expected this when he walked in. He hadn't expect to see her completely naked with her face turned away from him. His first reaction was to think he had made a mistake. Maybe he had come in before she was ready. But then again, why would she be naked on his cell?

Before he could think anything else, Valery spoke up without looking at him, "Close the gate."

Daryl obeyed almost mechanically but his throat was dry and his pulse had started to race the second he realized this was in fact the surprise she had prepared. "Place the sheet over the entrance." Valery continued speaking, still facing away from him. As Daryl obeyed, she tried to calm down. She had been nervous while she waited for him but now that he was actually there, she started listing all the things she hated about her body.

Her hands were shaking badly and she tried to steady them by placing them on the edge of the sink. On contrary of what Valery had imagined, Daryl didn't rushed to her, only making her self-awareness worse.

"God did he realized I have gained weight? Can he see that I have no ass like, at all? Does he hates that scar on my left shoulder just as much as I do?" the thoughts raced through her head, suddenly making her want to cry all over again.

Daryl saw nothing of what she feared. Instead he took a minute to contemplate how the ends of her hair brushed her back, how her body curved into a nice tight ass; how she was shaking with expectation…slowly all those things began making him hard. He approached Valery slowly until his chest was pressed against her back. He felt her body stiffening and smirked. "Have I ever told you how much I like you?" he whispered against her hair. "I really, really like you..."

Then he reached one hand to her breast and cupped one of her boobs. She gasped and leaned her body against his chest. He smiled at his reaction and squeezed her softly. She brought a hand to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. " I like you a lot too." She breathed out as Daryl flicked her nipple in between his fingers. He silenced her gasp with a soft kiss but it didn't remain "soft" for too long.

Immediately abandoning all her negative thoughts, Valery turned around and opened her mouth for Daryl's tongue to play around. He tasted good, and Valery knew he was enjoying the kiss as well because she could feel him pressing against her stomach. Quickly she took a break from his mouth to start undoing his shirt. She was in such a hurry that she struggled to get the buttons undone. Daryl chuckled at her frustration and she growled, "Fuck this." She said as he roughly took both sides of Daryl's shirt and yanked it open, sending the buttons flying around the room.

"You´re going to saw that up later." Daryl warned her. She gave him an eye roll and he chuckled again. "Now let's get serious, shall we?"

Daryl's eyes changed; they became darker, filled with lust. He attacked Valery's mouth again as she wrapped her hands around his neck. Daryl's hands roamed around her body unable to decide which place he liked better. Finally he reached his ass and squeezed it hard, feeling the bulge on his pants growing painfully big. He lifted Valerie's body up and she wrapped her hands around him instinctively. He gave a few steps carrying her without breaking the kiss until they reached the bunks. With one hand he steadied her ass and with the other he undid his pants.

It had been so long since he had been with anyone that he hadn't realized how fast they were moving until he was completely free from his jeans and boxers. He hesitated at her entrance, wondering if the lack of foreplay would disappoint her.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Valery asked looking at him with a mixture of impatience and desire.

"I just…babe I want to take the time to touch you and shit but…I'm so hard…"Daryl struggled to find the words and he wondered if it had anything to do with the blood distribution on his body at the time. "If you want to play a little before…"

"_No mames!"_ Valery muttered as she rolled her eyes and then eyed him fiercely. "Daryl, I want you to fuck me so hard that I'd forget my name. We'll have time for that playing around shit later." Daryl couldn't repress a smile.

That was the reason why Valery was so perfect for him. He hated girls that were shy about what they wanted or that obsessed over the cheesy I love you stuff and shit. Valery instead was there, looking at him like he was her favorite thing on the world and hadn't even mentioned he had never said the three magical words to her. But she clearly had three words to say.

"Fuck me. Now." Valery ordered.

Daryl didn't need to be asked twice. He thrusted inside her and she threw her head back and cried out. "Jezz babe, you're so tight." Daryl managed to say as he trusted violently into her. She still had her head back, so Daryl took advantage of the angle and began kissing down her neck and breast. When he licked her nipple at the same time he trusted hard into her, she screamed, "Oh, God, Daryl!"

He loved the way she cried out. The way her legs tightened around him. He speeded up his rhythm, aware that he didn't have much longer. With a loud groan, he cum inside her. He stayed like that for a few seconds, just feeling completely relaxed. Finally, his legs gave in and he laid both Valery and him on the lower bunk.

Valery cuddled next to him, wrapping a leg above his body and resting her head on his chest. Daryl ran his fingers through her hair. This was completely perfect for him. He wished they could lay like this forever. But Valery had to break the silence, "Daryl?" she said sweetly as she looked up.

"Yes baby?" he asked looking down into her deep black eyes. Daryl figured out that she wanted him to say the infamous three words to her.

"You own me an orgasm." Valery simply said with a bright smile on her face.

"_Just my kind of girl."_ He thought with a smirk.


	17. The Calm

This is more like a collection of cute fluffiness between our love birds. And I make Daryl act like a daddy! I just wanted to give them some time together before…well, I can only tell you there's some sadness coming down on this story. Sniff…sniff

**Brainsbeforebullets**, yeah thank you for following this story but more important: awesome pen name, just…awesome. And thanks to **BuzzyDeanPoP,** too!

**FanFicGirl10:** I know, I wanted to show that side of her! She's so adorable! Glad you liked the sexy time. **NormanReedus:** thanks, I kind of got all inspired by your smut ha ha. **Leyshla Gisel:** that's the type of girl she is and honestly, good for her!

What do you think will happen next? See if you can guess!

-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-

When Valery opened he eyes she found some blue piercing ones staring back. She smiled and surprisingly, Daryl smiled back. He looked kind of cute when he smiled. Like younger, more careless and free version of himself. "Hey there." Valery greeted with a sleepy voice.

"Good morning." Daryl's grin got wider. "It's six in the morning."

Valery frowned and snuggled next to his shirtless chest, "What? It's too early. I'm going back to sleep."

Daryl made something that sounded like a disappointed sight. It was freaking adorable. Valery wondered how could he be so sexy and so hellishly cute at the same time. "I was thinking…" Daryl started trailing off the outline of her naked body. She shivered when his cold fingers tingled her neck but the shivers began turning into something else as his hands moved down, "…we could seize the day."

Valery smiled, glad to had followed his suggestion of keep their clothes on the ground after having sex last night. Not very practical with walkers in the worlds but Daryl convinced her it would be a one time thing. She had the feeling he was more excited about finally having sex again than her. For Valery, it was enough to have him around to be happy. Oh, but she wasn0t complaining about the sex. Sex was great.

So she grinned when he cupped her face with one hand and began kissing her. Daryl was surprisingly soft when he wanted. Valery felt like she could melt away on his lips. Soon, she was craving for more. She pressed her body against his and he smiled without breaking the kiss. His body had started reacting and Valery's hand quickly trailed down to please him but he had prepared a surprise for her. Gently he took her hand and deviated it from his manhood. Valery broke the quiz and stared at him suspiciously. Daryl said nothing as he rolled on top of her, trying his best to look innocent.

"Daryl?" Valery questioned with a smile but he shrugged and leaned in to kiss her. Valery noticed he was doing everything painfully slow and it was frustrating because usually his single touch would set her on fire. Feeling the need to tease him, she started caressing his back, trying to move to his ass. Quickly Daryl grabbed both of her hands and pinched them above her head. "Daryl!"

"Not today, babydoll. You're gonna have to be patient this time." Daryl stated with a devilish grin.

Valery just rolled her eyes and Daryl chuckled before kissing her neck. Then, he moved down to her breasts. He gave a quick look up and saw Valery's eyes filled with desire before licking her nipple, _"Ay Dios mío!" _ Valery let out in a moan as Daryl licked and places small gentle bites on her breasts. Still holding back her hand, his tongue trailed down to her flat abdomen. Valery's back curved up when she felt Daryl moving even lower.

When Daryl placed a soft kiss on her inner tight, she squeaked. "Daryl, stop." She was barely able to mutter out the words but Daryl just looked up and smirked.

"No. I ain't done yet." He declared sweetly as he finally let go of her hands just to be able to use his to spread her legs lightly.

When Valery felt his tongue licking her clit, she cried out, "Daryl!"

Daryl continued his job to the best of his ability, enjoying the little pleasured sounds she made. When he felt she was ready to cum, he stopped licking and placed a finger on her entrance. "Daryl please…" Valery begged, curving her hips to meet his touch. Daryl smiled and pumped with his finger inside her as he licked her clit. "Oh, my god babe…" she moaned and cried out as she twitched around. Valery grabbed his hair and made him pull out. With a serious determination on her look, she begged, "Please Daryl, I want you so bad."

Daryl's smile disappeared. He was ready too.

Thrusting inside her was delicious. She cried out with each trust and he made his best not to growl too loud. "_Dale más fuerte, más_…faster, Daryl." Valery ordered in between cries and moans. Daryl speeded up his rhythm and finally exploded inside her at the same time she did. Valery let out a loud cry and bit into Daryl's shoulder. Daryl found the pain of the bite extremely pleasant as they collapsed together.

It was so amazing that it took them both some time to assimilate it. Valery (as always) was the first to speak. "I fucking love you."

She said it lightly and she expected no reply as she hugged him tightly.

"And I love fucking you, Val." Daryl replied with a smirk.

"Jerk."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Daryl! You have to see this!" Glenn practically screamed as he ran into the cell of the hunter. Once he reached the entrance he stopped, trying to process the image in front of him. "Daryl?"

A sleepy…and very naked Daryl rolled out of bed and stood up in front of Glenn. He seemed not to recognize him but once he did, he quickly looked around for something to cover himself. "Shit, Glenn! Turn around or something, man!"

"What?" Glenn was still confused ( and probably psychologically disturbed.) but he hurried to obey, "Of course! I'm so sorry, Daryl! I didn't know you liked to sleep naked…" Glenn's embarrassment made him stammer and he wasn't really thinking when he turned around confused and asked, "Isn't that a little dangerous with the walkers around?"

"What the fuck are ya' doin' man! Turn the fuck around!" Daryl yelled and Glenn quickly obeyed again.

Daryl was having a hard time finding his pants, so he decided to make some time. "What the fuck are you doing here anyway?"

"Well…Rick came out of his cave and I think he's doing better because he's holding the bay and shit like that. I thought you'd like to talk to him." Glenn explained making it very clear it hadn't been his intention to interrupt.

But just when Daryl finally found his jeans and slipped into them, Oscar showed up.

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Now what?"

"Carol said I'd find Valery here." Oscar said with a big smile. Daryl cursed silently. Oscar was clearly not a person who could be intimidated as easily as Glenn.

"Wait! Valery is here?" Glenn turned around with a shocked face and Daryl though he had never been so embarrassed on his life.

Valery then decided it was time to come from underneath the sheets. She didn't looked embarrassed at all as she stood up completely naked and smiled to the men, "Hey boys."

Daryl lost a whole minute staring at her perfectly rounded ass until he realized he wasn't the only one with eyes. Quickly, he picked up his shirt from the floor and wrapped it around her. Valery slipped into the shirt gracefully but she was still too uncovered for Daryl's standards. He gave a threatening look to Oscar and Glenn but there was no need. The Asian boy was so embarrassed his eyes were fixed on the floor while Oscar apparently had more fun watching Daryl's reaction. "Your lil' girl is awake." Oscar said as he placed a hand on Glenn's shoulder, "C'om on bro, let's give them some time alone."

Glenn looked relieved when he left the cell and that made Valery chuckle. But when he turned to see Daryl, he was frowning, "Why did ya' had to put on that show for them?"

"Well, for two reasons. Firsts, now I got you to stay shirtless." Valery smiled as she placed a soft kiss on Daryl's lips, "And second…I love to see you jealous."

Daryl smirked, "Go see your girl."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"You cut down your hair." Daryl said as he ran his fingers through her now completely black hair. He had to admit she looked much better now; more adult.

"Yeah, we made a bet." Valery confessed as she yawned. This was not one of the romantic/sexy nights but more like the "parenting night" Robbie was cuddled up in between both adults, sleeping peacefully, "Robbie said she could shoot more zombies than me. I lost."

"Against a little girl?" Daryl tried to hide his smile. He felt a wave of pride and looked down at Robbie, cuddled against his chest. She had fallen asleep trying to teach him to play cards. Valery had offered to take her to another cell but Daryl told her to leave her there. God, he was turning into a Teddy bear!

"Shut up, she's quite good!" Valery defended herself.

"Of course! She's an adopted Dixon!" Daryl stated proudly. Then he realized the implications of what he had said and looked at Robbie. He had to admit, he loved the girl like his own flesh. He slowly leaned in and kissed Robbie's temple.

Meanwhile, Valery tried not to cry.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl went downstairs shirtless but he didn't made it too far before Carol slapped the back of his head, "Put on a shirt, Daryl!"

Daryl rolled his eyes as everyone smiled, "I don't have any shirts left! She's wearing the only one I have left!" Daryl pointed an accusing finger towards Valery, who stood up.

"Okay, you can have it back!" she started undoing the buttons but Carol quickly jumped in.

"No! Everyone keep the shirts on!" Carol ordered with authority. "Daryl put on a shirt!" Carol sighed and added with a calmer voice, "What about the white one I washed last Friday?"

"I cut it." Robbie confessed. Daryl crossed his arms against his chest, "The baby needed something to wear that wasn't like…completely disgusting." She said innocently and added, "Beth turned it into a very cute dress."

Daryl turned to Carol and faked an insulted voice, "See? I'm the victim here!"

"Rick?" Carol looked for support and for everyone's surprise; Rick was wearing a weak smile. Maybe it had something to do with the little baby he was holding on his arms.

"Daryl, take one of my shirts. Valery, stop stealing his clothes. Robbie…you're right, the dress is sort of cute." Rick confessed as everyone chuckled.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

But happiness didn't lasted long…

"No." for the first time in two weeks, Valery felt afraid again. She stared down at her daughter and repeated, _"No, es muy peligroso_" , reminding everyone that the world outside was still dangerous, even if things had been good lately.

"_Mama, porfavor!"_ Robbie begged, "Maggie and Glenn can take care of me!"

"Not if I don't go with you." Valery insisted. She panicked with the single thought of being separated of her daughter again.

"Mom, I love you. But it's time I start fighting for myself. I want to be able to protect you and Daryl…" Robbie explained calmly. She knew that if her mother join them, she wouldn't be able to get near the walkers. Something had changed inside Valery since she lost her daughter on the tunnels. The old Valery would have pushed Robbie into the outside world but the new one…the fear on her eyes worried Robbie.

"I don't need…!" Daryl tried to interrupt but Robbie shook her head.

"Yes Daryl, you do. Everyone needs to be able to trust there will always be someone to look out for them. Everyone needs to protect and be protected. Mom…" Robbie tried to look as older as she could. The little girl could see the fear on her eyes but she was convinced she was right on this. She was tired of depending on others and she wanted to be able to take care of her mom, even if Daryl had that field almost completely covered. "I need to do this. We need this."

Daryl had to admit the kid was right. But it still made his heart drop to think of her outside with the walkers. He swallowed hard and sighed.

"Val…" Maggie steeped in and assured, "We'll look after her all the time. Glenn has done this a million times."

"Mom?" Robbie asked.

Valery finally sighed. "Okay, you can go with them."


	18. The Brother

Hi guys! We'll this chapter took some work to do. I just think that on some of the latest chapters I kind of got too carried away and became a little OOC but now I'm back on track.

Thanks to

**FanFicGirl10:** Yes! Things heat up on this chapter XD

**Leyshla Gisel:** Yes, let's get some action into this.

**emerald jaguar ;** I had already mention it but your user name is super cool :3

walter-needz-luv-2 thanks for following this story!

Please review guys, it's important for me to know if you're still reading this or if you'd like me to change something.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Roberta relaxed. This hadn't been exactly the kind of adventure she had expected. Of course, she might had allowed her imagination wander a little when she imagined herself slicing walkers in half while standing on the top of a mountain of corpses, but she blamed the extremely graphic stories Daryl had been telling her each night before bedtime. In fact, this was quite nice. She was given the _extremely important_ task of looking after the truck as Glenn and Maggie looted the store. But it wasn't even that hard because Maggie had only dared to go as far as the entrance of the store and she kept glancing over to check on Robbie. But it was still nice to be out of the prison and to be able to feel the sunlight and the breeze playing on her skin. And they gave her a gun, which was pretty awesome.

"Almost done here." Glenn announced as he walked out of the store with a box filled with baby stuff. "Can you get the keys, Maggs?"

Maggie fished out for the keys on Glenn's front pocket and then threw them at Robbie. "Open the trunk sweetie."

Robbie obeyed, glad to have another task. She walked to the back of the truck playing with the keys on her hand. But something wasn't right. There was a man kneeling on the back on the back of the truck. He looked up and Robbie tilted her head to the side, confused. The man was alive. There was a living man in front of her. He was crouched on his knees, like some animal stalking its prey. There was something familiar and disturbing on his face. His eyes were cold and the twisted grin on his face made Robbie want to shiver. He placed his index finger in front of his lips, signaling her to stay quiet. His other arm lay still to his side, with a prosthetic piece where his hand was missing.

" There's someone..." She had barely opened her mouth when the man moved. He violently seeped her off the floor and tried to silence her covering her mouth with his hand. Robbie managed to scream before the gigantic hand covered her mouth.

"Robbie?" Maggie was the first to run to the back of the truck but she froze when she saw a man holding Robbie against his chest.

Glenn stumbled behind Maggie and his eyes widened with fear and surprise, "Merle?"

"Well, well, look at this!" Merle exclaimed with a rough laugh. Robbie was finding it incredibly hard to breath by now. The man called Merle had his mutilated arm wrapped around Robbie's neck, chocking her up no matter how hard she tried to get free. Merle started advancing, but Maggie quickly pointed at him with her gun.

"Hey, back the hell up!" she barked out, trying to hide her fear.

"Hey, hey, okay honey!" Merle tried to calm things down and he let his gun rest on the floor. Then he looked at Glenn and asked, "It's my baby brother alive?"

Robbie hoped that Glenn would say he didn't knew the brother of the man and that this thing was a huge mess up, but instead Glenn nodded lightly and said, "Yeah."

There was a sigh of relief on the man's chest and Robbie relaxed. The man had let his gun down and he seemed to be looking for someone. So maybe Glenn could tell him where to find him and everything would be okay. "Hey," Merle spoke again, trying to convey as much softness as possible through his voice but it was a hard thing to do when there was nothing soft inside him. "You take me to where he is and I call it even on everything that happened on the past. No hard feelings, huh?"

Glenn swallowed and glanced at Merle's prosthetic, firmly wrapped around Robbie's neck, the poor girl looked so fragile, clenching to Merle's arm as he feet kicked on the air. Merle noticed his glance; he chuckled and said, "Yeah, you like that? I did it myself. Found myself a medical supply, pretty cool, yeah?"

Robbie had to admit it was pretty cool. It would be even cooler if it wasn´t completely chocking her up.

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come up to meet you." Glenn suggested and Robbie frowned. Why would Daryl like to meet the strange man? Unless…Daryl had mentioned he had a brother, right? One night, when Daryl though Robbie was asleep, he came into the cell and sat on her bunk. He started talking to himself basically resuming all the bad things he had got through when he was a kid. Robbie listened with her eyes closed as Daryl talked about how his drunken old man used to beat him and his brother up. At the end, he had whispered something like, _"I will never let anything like that happen to you."_ And kissed her temple and left.

"_So this was Daryl's brother?"_

"I don't think so, china man." Merle's voice had lost every trail of softness.

"Let her go." Glenn threatened, pointing his gun firmly at Merle's chest. Maggie tried to give a calming look to Robbie but the girl was too scared to notice.

"You should have taken me to Daryl." Merle muttered as he took out a knife from the back of his pants and placed it on Robbie's neck. Robbie squeaked when she felt the knife scratching her skin.

"No, please don't hurt her!" Maggie cried out, immediately deviating her gun's aim from Merle's chest.

"Shh shh, it will be alright, sweetheart." Merle's scrappy unshaved face scratched Robbie's ear. "Drop your guns, nice and easy"

Maggie dropped the gun and kicked it away. Glenn did the same, his eyes never leaving Merle's "Merle, if you hurt that girl, your brother will never forgive you."

"Is that right?" Merle asked with a grin as he signaled the car. "Drive, china man."

Glenn and Maggie slid on the front seat and Merle pushed Robbie into the tailgate, keeping the knife on her throat at all times. "I didn't knew Darlina had a thing for lil' girls." Merle laughed, observing Robbie curiously as she sat in front of him. "Aint ya a lil' young for my brother."

"Daryl will beat the fuck out of you _pedazo de mierda_." Robbie spitted out with hate, looking at Merle defiantly.

Merle grinned and then slapped the girl so hard, Robbie was knocked down to a side. She curled up, protecting herself from the next hit.

"Leave her alone!" Maggie screamed from the front seat but Merle just chucked.

"Just teaching this punk some manners!"

The metallic taste of blood on her mouth made Robbie want to cry. _"No dejes que sepan que tienes miedo"._ Robbie remembered the advice her uncle had given her once. She sat up and looked at Merle, trying to hide her fear, "You are not Daryl's brother. Daryl would never hit me."

"Merle, I mean it. Daryl really cares for that girl." Glenn explained calmly, trying to keep everyone cool. "He's with her mother."

"Did that pussy finally grow a dick big enough to get him some tail?! I'm impressed." Merle replied vulgarly.

"It's not like that." Glenn tried again. "It's more than just..." He swallowed nervously," ... You know."

"Sex?" Merle grinned and then looked at Robbie. "Hate to break it to ya baby, but the fact tha Daryl is banging your mommy doesn't means he cares about ya. Probably a good thing cuz Daryl ain´t no daddy material."

Roberta just hugged her legs and buried her face on them. It wasn't like that! Daryl cared about them, right? "Daryl told me about his dad and how he used to beat you two up. He's not like that. He's a good dad." Robbie stated with conviction.

That seemed to unsettle Merle a little. He took a new look to the girl, trying to figure out what did Daryl saw in her.

The rest of the trip was silent. When the car finally came to a stop, Merle shook Robbie roughly. "Wake up lil' girl." Robbie looked up to him and his face was distorted by guilt when he saw Robbie's swollen and purple lip. "Shit. I'll tell them to give you some ice for that."

Roberta jumped out of the truck followed by Merle. They were several men surrounding the truck and Maggie and Glenn were on his knees, wearing black bags over their heads."Maggie!Glenn!" Robbie called but Merle shook his head

"It's just a precaution." Merle explained as one of the men handed him another black bag.

"There's no need for that, Merle." Another man spoke. Roberta turned to see him. He was tall with brown hair and little eyes. He smiled at Robbie but she didn't trust the man. There was something weird about the way he was looking at Robbie, like she was a prize. Also, the girl noticed that the men immediately backed up when the man showed up, like if they were scared of him. Robbie was scared too. In fact, she took a step back until her body touched Merle's the man smiled and kneeled down. "What happened to you sweetie?" He asked, giving a quick harsh look to Merle

"I fell down" Robbie simply explained

"Are you sure?" The man insisted and Robbie nodded. "Okay. What's your name?"

"Roberta. What's yours?" Robbie decided it was better to play dumb

"They call me the Governor."

Roberta frowned, "And what do you govern?"

The man just grinned.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-  
Valery stood next to the window, contemplating the darkness through the metal bars. Daryl hugged her from behind, pressing his naked body against hers.

"Something is wrong Daryl, I can feel it" Valery whispered, letting her head rest against his chest.

"I know." Daryl agreed, feeling strangely anxious and sad at the same time. Something was going to happen, they just didn't knew what.


	19. Loose Ends

**Leyshla Gisel: …yeah. I'm not even sure where did that come out when I was typing it but it end up sounding okay, so I left it there XD**

**FanFicGirl10: I'm tying lots of dead ends on this chapter and the next one before my very own mid season finale LOL! I'm glad you have been enjoying this story so far!**

-OoO-OoO-OOO-

The tension on the air was palpable. The Governor was pacing around the room as his loyal men followed him with their eyes.

"You told me the prison couldn't be taken." The Governor muttered with contained anger. Merle found himself flinching spontaneously. He had never seen the Governor so upset or at least, he hadn't ever been the target to his temper.

"I thought that.."Merle started explaining but the Governor interrupted him abruptly.

"And now, thanks to you, we have a considerable force camping in our back yard!" The Governor had raised his voice and Merle looked down. "I want to know everything about them! How many are them, how many can shoot, god damn it, you tell me every single damn thing, did you heard me?!"

"I'll start questioning the kid immediately, sir." Merle declared obediently, hoping to make it into the Governor's grace again. "If that doesn't work, I'll use the girl to..."

"No" the Governor said, regaining his usual calm tone. "Leave the girl to me."

Merle was about to walk out of the office when a male voice spoke. "What about the kid?"

Everyone in the office turned back to see who had spoken. The boy with the dragon tattoo came out of the shadows and stared back at them defiantly. The Governor seemed more surprised than upset for the interruption. After the fight on the bitter ring, he had named the boy his personal guardian but even then he wasn't able to make him say a single word.

"You're not seriously suggesting that we torture a little girl?" The Governor questioned. The moment he saw the girl jumping off the car, he felt his heart go soft. Robbie was in many ways, similar to Penny. Not only did she have the same age but she also had the same smart and sparkly eyes the Governor missed so much.

The boy shook his head," No, but Merle said she talked Spanish. Maybe it would be easier to make her talk that way."

The Governor hesitated but at the end he gave a short nod to the man. "Don't hurt her. I forbid you to threaten or scare her in any way..."

But the boy had already left the room

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Robbie looked down at her shoes as she swigged her legs on the chair. She had obeyed the Governor's instructions and had waited patiently but she was starting to feel restless. At the beginning, Robbie had imagined Daryl would knock down the door and Valery would run to hug her, but then she realized that wasn't going to happen. It had taken Glenn almost a day to drive to the store. When the group realized they were taking too long to go back, they could just assume that they decided to camp by the road and wait until the morning. Even if Valery insisted on going out to look for them (because she would, Robbie knew her well enough to be sure about that) they wouldn't risk to go out until the morning.

"No one is coming." Robbie whispered.

"Does that scare you?" A male voice spoke and Roberta spotted a man standing inside the cell. He had blue eyes and black curly hair. The man smiled and Robbie though he looked familiar to her. _"Roberta, sabes quien soy?  
_  
"You're my dad." Robbie answered calmly. When she was younger, some of her friends had imaginary friends. None of them ever saw the ghost of their deceased father but Robbie guessed the situations could relate.

_"Sabes por que estoy aqui?"_ The man asked with a smile as he walked towards Robbie.

"You're only here because I'm scared and my mind has materialized your memory as some sort of comfort." Robbie bit her lip and explained, "Loreen had all this books about spirits and metaphysics."

_"Quieres que me vaya?"_ The man asked and Robbie shook her head.

"No, stay. Keep me company."

They remained in comfortable silence until someone yanked the door open. When Robbie looked over the place where her father had been sitting, she discovered he was gone.

Then the girl glanced at the door and examined the stranger that had just come inside. Suddenly, her eyes widened with surprise, _"Tio_ Thiago!"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Santiago simply stood there, observing his niece. The minute Merle announced that they had found a little girl who spoke Spanish, Robbie's face popped in his head. He wasn't sure it was her though, so he insisted on leading the interrogation. However, now that he was standing in front of Robbie, he wasn't sure what to do. Roberta had been found tagging along with a Chinese guy and a young woman. Did that meant...?

"Where's your mom?" Santiago asked coldly.

Robbie blinked a few times. The man in front of her was her uncle but he didn't act like that. "Safe. Where is aunt Loreen?"

"Dead." Santiago simply stated. _"She passed out on one side of the road and not even within three seconds the baby she carried started eating its way out of her body. I couldn't even kill her; I just walked away and left her there."_ He though.

"Sorry." Robbie said, simply because she didn't know what else to say. "Adriana is dead too, we found her in the pri..." Santiago's eyes shot up but Roberta didn't finish the phrase. She had the feeling that the prison was some kind of secret she shouldn't reveal.

"Roberta, where is Valery?" Santiago's eyes were now filled with something that Robbie couldn't explain but that scared her to dead.

"Where's Glenn and Ma...?" Roberta's question was interrupted when a sharp cry of pain sounded on the room next to them. "Don't hurt them!"

"It's not on my hands anymore." Santiago said without a bit of remorse. "The Governor wants to know where your friends are. The sooner he knows that, the sooner we can go and find them."

"And then what?"

Santiago smiled and gently leaned into Robbie's body and pulled her into a hug. "We bring them here, where is safe. Robbie, I won't let anything happen to my family."

"What about the others?" Robbie asked as she pressed her face against her uncle's chest.

"Sure, we can bring them as well." Santiago promised.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"I know her." Santiago announced as he entered the room where the Governor, Milton and Merle were sitting. The Governor gave him a questioning look and he explained, "She's my niece.

"We already know they are holed up on the prison." The Governor said calmly. The group hadn´t been the terrible threat he had imagined; they just had been very lucky so far.

"Yeah well, I can tell you how many are they, what kind of weapons do they had and how to bring them down." Santiago replied with a shrug. The Governor smiled. He had been right about the boy; he would be useful for the town in no time. Maybe he could even replace Merle, who had been loyal so far but had started messing up things with his obsession of looking for his brother.

"I'm all ears."

"May we talk in private?" Santiago asked, avoiding Merle's daggering look.

"Sure. Merle, Milton." The Governor signaled them to exit the room. Just when Merle passed right by Santiago's side, the second grabbed his shoulder to retain him.

"If you ever lay your hands on my family again, I'll shoot you." Santiago's voice wasn't threatening and maybe that was the scariest part.

But Merle simply snorted and yanked his arm away, "We'll see about that."

He governor waited until everyone had left the room before addressing to the boy again. "You were saying…"

"I want you to guarantee my sister's and niece's safety." Santiago sighed before adding, "the rest of the group, including Merle's brother, I don't care what happens to them."

The Governor nodded shortly. He had planned on killing everyone on the prison but after a second though he decided Robbie would make a nice friend for Penny and he didn't cared too much about her mother.

"I can tell that you like the kid." Santiago pointed out. "If this is some kind of perv stuff, I'll tear your face apart…"

"No! Not at all, she just reminds me of someone…of someone I lost." The governor corrected quickly and Santiago seemed to relax.

"In that case, you can have her."

"What do you mean?" The Governor asked, not following the boy's line of thought.

"Well, if you want her to be your daughter or shit like that, she can be so. Her mother is single too and she's pretty too." Santiago explained, feeling uncomfortable selling out his family like that. However, if he truly wanted to protect them, what would be best than placing them under the Governor's wing? They would have food, shelter and protection, what else could they ask for?

The Governor was a bit overwhelmed by the proposition. He didn't had any trouble keeping his bed warm but Santiago was offering more than just that. He was offering him the possibility of having a family again, of having a daughter again. He looked down as he said, "I'll think about that when I met your sister. Now, how do you suggest we catch them?"

"There's no need." Santiago smiled as he added, "They will come to us."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"You saw this psycho taking my daughter and you did nothing?! What the fuck is wrong with you, dumb bitch?!" Valery screamed and Daryl has to hug her to stop her from attacking Michonne. "_Suéltame!_ I'll kill her!"

"It wasn't my job to look after your daughter; it was yours." Michonne spit out. Valery made another attempt to tackle her, but Daryl's grip around her remained firm. "If you want to get them back, you will have to act quickly." Michonne gave a harsh look to Valery and added, "I'm not sure how mush torture a ten year old can take before cracking."

"Daryl, I swear to God if you don't take your hands off me…" Valery muttered.

Rick stepped up, discretely placing his body between Valery and Michonne. "We'll get them back, Valery. All of them."

Valery didn't reply. Instead, she shook off Daryl's grip and stormed out of the room.

"You should go talk to her. We'll be ready to leave in half an hour." Rick recommended Daryl, who sighed and left the room.

Daryl was as worried for Robbie as Valery was but he knew better to remain calm. In those moments, the last thing Robbie needed was for them to start fighting each other and freaking out. Daryl went outside and found Valery standing next to his bike. She was pacing around, making sure they packed everything they could need. "Hey, I'm sorry for holding ya' back." Daryl tried out as he slowly approached Valery. "I just thought that murdering that woman would take too damn long and we're running against the clock here…"

Valery snorted and turned around. "I know that you didn't mean to upset me. I just…I feel like something is about to go terribly wrong and I can't do anything to stop it."

"Cut off that sixth sense shit, Val." Daryl joked as he pulled Valery into a tight one-armed hug. "Little ass kicker, Carl, Robbie…they ain't no regular kids. They are though. Besides, if Robbie has any of your DNA, she's going to be just fine."

Valery dug her face in Daryl's neck, chuckling lightly. "Well, she had a pretty good tutor when it comes to things you need to now to survive the Apocalypse."

As Rick and the others came out of the prison, Daryl broke the hug. He looked down at Valery and stated, "I promise you nothing is going to happen to you or Robbie. Not while I'm around to watch over you."

Valery smiled and suddenly Daryl felt a strange pressure on his chest. _"Oh God, what have I done? What if something does happens to them?" _he thought.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

_**Next, brother reunions, brother reunions everywhere! Besides, who's ready for some angst and drama brought into the mix?**_


	20. Hello, sis

**Guys, the title of the chapter is the translation of the last Spanish phrase Santiago says. Now, you might think that I'm dragging things until we reach the season finale, and you're kind of right. I'm starting a job on a film festival next week, but I hope to be able to post another chapter before that. I also want to wait and see what's happening to our favorite hunter when TWD returns. (Are you excited as I am?) But anyway, lots of stuff is going down on the next chapters, so stay tuned!**

**Thanks to:**

**Leyshla Gisel:** Santiago is really twisted! I mean I think that on his mind, he's doing the right thing which it's super creepy, right? **NormanReedus:** Lots of good stuff coming up **FanFicGirl10:** Trust me, I have a really epic finale coming up for Thiago ;) **Nicholetta:** I hope you're still reading ! I add the flashback on this chapter thanks to your review

And to: **nuku nuku6, Cthylla, mmiller1983**, thanks for faving and following, it's always nice to see some new readers.

-OoO-OoO-

The discussion had escalated quickly. Oscar had to place a hand on Valery's shoulder to keep her from physically assaulting Rick, which could happen any second given both of their body language. Trouble had started the second they left the prison; after all, Rick had just recovered from a mental breakdown and he was having a little trouble getting used to the weight of the leadership on his shoulders once more. It didn't help that Valery kept barking orders to everyone, trying to hurry them and burn the whole town down. What apparently brought the conflict to its highest peak was when Daryl listened to Valery calling Rick _"incompetent retarded pig"_

The hunter had turned around and yelled, "For God's sake woman, let him be! He's got enough on his mind already to listen to your shit! It was your fucking job to look after your daughter."

Daryl hadn't meant that last part, especially when he noticed the betrayal and hurt that crossed Valery's features. Valery was silent after that and things seemed to have cooled enough by the time they reached the towns borders.

"Now, we all need to remember this is a rescue mission, not some sort of personal vendetta." Rick stared at Valery, whose eyes had grown cold. "If we do find the guy who took Glenn, Maggie and Robbie, we let him be. " Valery didn't interrupted Rick, but her hands clenched into fists. "Some of us need to remember the objective of this mission."

Valery couldn't hold her tongue anymore, "If you think for a second that I had forgotten the fucking point of all this.."

Rick steeped up until his face was inches away from Valery's, "Then you remember your place in the group."

Daryl had remained silent on the background, ready to step in if things got physical. However, who he would support, was unclear. Oscar laid his enormous hand on Valery's shoulder, pulling her back gently. Daryl had noticed the connection between the prisoner and Valery but he had never felt any sort of jealousy until this point.

Valery finally backed up, with fire burning on her eyes. Michonne honored her word and guided them to the prisoners. So far the group had managed to work in some sort of synchrony, but things were far from being okay between them.

Daryl kept glancing back to see Valery, who had taken a distance from the group both physically and mentally. Valery was more hurt by Daryl's words than she was willing to admit. She had felt like Rick and the others were more interested on rescuing Glenn and Maggie than to look for Robbie. It was logical, since they had been part of the group long before Robbie but it still hurt. On the last month, Valery had let her walls down, she had trusted this people; but now the show was over. She and Robbie were nothing but parasites to them. Valery had expected that at least Daryl to care, but it was clear to Valery that was not the case.

"_Silly girl. He only pretended to care long enough to get under your pants. And you spread your legs for him like a whore."_ Valery though bitterly as she fought back the tears.

Daryl hadn't stop thinking about Robbie, not even for a second. But he was a patient man, a hunter used to stalk his prey for days waiting for the right chance to make his move. He wasn't as hot blooded as Valery. If the fucker who took Robbie accidentally felt into his hands, he was going to take the time to break every bone on his body.  
_  
"Chickens ain´t green." Daryl pointed out from behind Robbie as he stared down at her drawing._

Robbie looked up with a big frown on her face. Daryl smirked with amusement at the girl's frustration. "It's a penguin, Daryl" Robbie pointed out and then returned to his job. 

_It was too early for the rest of the group to wake up, so Daryl decided he had nothing better than to keep Robbie company. It wasn't like he didn't like spending time with her but Robbie was not like other kids. She never begged adults to play with her, she never followed them around and she knew when it was best to remain quiet. Daryl played with his hands for a while, but finally he couldn't resist and took another peek at the drawing._

"_That ain't no fucking penguin. Penguins are taller and…"Daryl slid his chair next to Robbie's and pushed her body away gently. Then he grabbed the green crayon and started making corrections, "Here, it's neck should be longer and…"_

"_Stop!" Robbie protested, trying to recover the crayon. Her little hands pushed Daryl's arm but she didn't managed to move it an inch._

"_It's legs should be bigger and…"Daryl had been possessed by some playful feeling he had never felt before. As a child, he never had a chance to play or do any of the shit other kids did. And now, here he was, leaning over a drawing, with his tongue peeking from the corner of his mouth and his arms spread on the table. Eventually Robbie stopped fighting and she opted to lean in curiously to watch over Daryl's shoulder._

_She remained quiet excepting some sort comments like, "Oh, I see what you did there." Or sometimes, "Maybe if we changed this…"_

_After the penguin was complete, Daryl lifted it off the table and showed it to Robbie proudly. "It's not that bad." She commented casually and Daryl frowned._

"_What is wrong with ya, lil' punk! This is the best motherfucking penguin ever!" he barked out with irritation but Robbie just giggled. Daryl raised an eyebrow, "Hey, you think this is funny?"_

_Roberta just continued giggling but she screamed with surprise when Daryl tackled her and carried her over his shoulder. She began laughing as Daryl spinned her around. "Faster, Daryl! Faster!"_

_Daryl smiled._

"Nobody hurts my family." Daryl muttered as they got ready to bomb the place with the smoke grenades.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Merle, Merle is alive Daryl." Glenn managed to say despite of the pain he was feeling. They had managed to take shelter on a house but Michonne was nowhere to be found and Robbie was still missing.

Everyone on the room froze, except for Valery. She kneeled next to Glenn and questioned him, "Where is Robbie?"

"They took her away once we arrived. Merle took her." Maggie said as she grimaced in pain.

"Who the fuck is Merle?!" Valery screamed hysterically.

Everyone looked at Daryl. He was still in shock. There were so many feelings he couldn't even begin to understand them. He was relieved of knowing his only family was still alive but he also felt guilty. He had stop searching for Merle, he had given up on him and simply resigned to his dead. All this time, Merle had keep searching for him. Even if Merle wasn't the most caring or affective brother, he had never given up.

"My brother." Daryl whispered, not really paying attention to Valery.

Valery snorted as she threw her hands in the air. "That's enough. Since all of you have decided to sit here and do nothing, I'll go look for my daughter and the asshole who took her." Valery grabbed a gun and headed to the door, but Rick blocked the exit with his body.

"It's too risky! Now they know that we're here and they're looking for us. Glenn and Maggie need medical attention immediately and…" Rick started listing the cons of making another attack, but he was interrupted by Valery pulling out her gun and pointing at his head.

"Rick, move." Valery ordered.

Rick stared down at Valery. He didn't think she was capable of pulling the trigger but there was some dangerous spark on her eyes.

He took a step back and rose his hands, "Easy there, Val. We're not the enemy here."

"Move." Valery repeated as she took off the safety of the gun.

"Don't do this Valery. " Glenn warned as he pointed at her and so did Maggie.

Oscar aimed his gun at the pair. When everyone looked at him with shock, he simply explained, "She has the right to go look for her child."

Valery thanked him silently and then looked at Daryl. He still looked shocked but he was tarting to come back. "Don't do this, Val."

Valery let out a humorless chuckle, "I was so stupid Daryl, thinking you cared." She couldn't help the tears pooling on her eyes. "You used me…"

"That's not true." Daryl defended himself, but his eyes were fixed on the gun Valery was pointing at Rick. There were just so many ways things could end badly. "You know that's not true."

"_Mentira!" _Valery shouted, "You pretended that you cared but all you wanted to do was fuck me. Well, you did. But now you'll have to find some other place to bury your cock, cuz' I'm done with your lies." Valery was on the edge of tears. Her whole body was shaking with anger.

Rick took advantage of Valery's commotion and he quickly grabbed the gun from her hands, turning around the situation and aiming at her chest. "It's over Valery."

"No, Rick. Unless you're going to shoot me, I'll go and search for my daughter." Valery teased as she walked pass Rick. She was confident that Rick wouldn't pull the trigger.

"Val, wait up!" Daryl called out when she had already reached the door. "I know that I'd acted like that, but I'm not using you! I care about you and the lil' girl like I never cared about anyone before. I'll go with you and bring Robbie back."

"Yeah?" Valery questioned as she looked over her shoulder. "And what if it comes to Merle or us, Daryl? Who will you choose?"

Daryl was stunned by the question. How could he choose between the persons that he loved? He wished there was an easy answer, he wished he never had to pick between them, he wished…

"I guess we know the answer." Valery said as she opened the door and walked outside.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

On the bushes nearby the house, a pair of eyes as black as the night observed Valery coming out of the house. _"Hola, hermanita."_ Santiago muttered as he smiled.


	21. Thinking of You

**WARNINGS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER: One I'm not completely happy with it. It's just…weird. Second, I try to make you understand why do my characters do the things they do, so at one point this becomes really introspective. And Robbie has not magical powers or anything but she can sense what's about to happen. Next chapter will be pure action+drama , I promise!**

**Leyshla Gisel:** This girl takes shit from no body! **FanFicGirl10**: I got a lil frustrated with Rick and Daryl too but I guess they are not really good expressing their feelings D: **Nicholetta**: Glad you liked it and thank u for staying !

Also, thanks to **FanFicGirl10 **for the follow

-OoO-OoO-OoO

Valery pushed away the sadness she felt. A part of her had actually expected Daryl to chase after her, to sweep her off the floor into a bone breaking hug and to tell her it had all been a big mistake. She even waited a few seconds outside the door but then she felt too pathetical and walked away quickly. Valery knew she could feel miserable later, right now, she had to find Robbie. Besides, the dark streets lighted with torches were starting to mess with her mind. She could feel someone was following her but every time she looked around, there was no one chasing her. That made Valery even more nervous because she was unable to shake the feeling away. She was already on the edge of a heart attack when she rounded a building and someone covered her mouth, muffling her high pitched scream.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO

"I ain't leaving." Daryl stated firmly.

Rick runs his hand through his hair. The situation keeps complicating. A few minutes ago, the town went crazy. They observed through the window as vehicles with armed men and patrols circled through the empty streets. Something had definitely change, something besides Glenn and Maggie rescue. Rick stared at Daryl. The hunter was agrown man, perfectly able to take his own decisions. However, Rick resisted to let him go that easily. Something had changed inside Daryl when he head Merle was alive. He know seemed more vulnerable.

"We can't stay here, Daryl. Glenn and Maggie need help." Rick tried to reason with his friend but he know it was a lost cause. Daryl might not be the sharpest crayon out there but what he lacked on education, he made it up with instinct and a strong loyalty towards his own.

"I can't leave them behind, Rick. " Daryl said with a sad voice. Rick understood completely. A part of him wished he had handled things better with Valery and he also wanted to get Robbie back. But to Daryl, it was a matter of life or dead. Those people were his only real family.

Rick placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder. "We'll come back for you, I promise."

Daryl just gave a quick nod. He took a last look to the group before finally going outside. He really hoped that wouldn't be his last memory of them.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Roberta felt uneasy almost immediately after the Governor stepped into the room. He was already intimidating when they first met but now that he wore a patch over his eye he was just plain scary. Robbie found herself pressing her back against the chair in an attempt to put as much distance between her and the Governor as possible.

The governor contemplated Robbie with an expressionless look. Deep inside him, however, thousands of thoughts and feelings conveyed at the same time. _"Why Penny? Why not this girl? Why would her mom be able to hug her while he wouldn't see Penny again? Why her? That woman…she had killed Penny. Penny had been killed. Her dead would be revenged…."_

The governor's thoughts were interrupted by Robbie's voice, "What happened to your eye?"

The Governor blinked a couple times. He noticed the fear in Robbie's eyes and tried to soften his features as much as possible as he kneeled next to her. "A very bad woman hurt me."

"I'm sorry." Robbie apologized just because it seemed like the right thing to say.

"It's okay hun, it wasn't your fault." The Governor placed his hand over Robbie's and the girl tried her best not to shiver at the contact. "You know, I used to have a daughter who looked a lot like you." He said as he arranged one loose strand of Robbie's hair behind her ear. "She was a very sweet girl."

"What happened to her?" Robbie asked with a shaky voice. The look on The Governor's eye was freaking her out. It was almost like he was mad at her for something.

"A woman on your group killed her." The Governor tried his best to keep his anger hidden but a bitter smile spread through his face. "The same woman who did this to my eye."

"I'm sorry." Roberta repeated, not sure why she was apologizing for.

The governor chuckled and said, "It ain't your fault sweetie. Hey, I'll tell you something; tonight is a very special night for all of us here. See, I'm having a show and I want you to be my guest of honor. Would you do that for me, Robbie?"

And somehow in that moment, Robbie knew that she was going to die. Whatever the Governor was planning, she could see the anger behind his mask. She was going to die in order for him to avenge the dead of her daughter. And suddenly, everything was clear to Robbie. This was how things were supposed to end. The only thing that made her sad was not being able to tell that to Valery, that everything was going to be fine because this was the way things were supposed to be. Robbie hid her sadness and nodded enthusiastically, "I'd love that."

"Awesome!" The Governor exclaimed as he stood up and extended his hand to Robbie. "You're gonna love the show and…"

The Governor kept talking as they both walked out of the cell. Silently, Robbie imagined her father, who materialized to her side. Smiling, Leon whispered into her ear, _"Tranquila, todo terminara rápido."_

With the words of assurance of her father, Robbie was able to fight back the tears on her eyes.

-OoO-OooO-OOoO-OoO

Valery didn't know what to do. She stared at Santiago like he was a stranger because in many ways, he was. All this time, Valery had thought her brother was dead and now he was right in front of her, with a cocky smile on his lips. Valery felt tears pooling in her eyes as she threw herself into Thiago's arms. "_Dios mio_, it's really you!"

Santiago embraced Valery tightly. He had practically dragged her to one of the empty houses before reveling his identity. Valery looked exactly like Santiago remembered her, excepting her now completely black hair. Santiago hugged his sister but somehow he felt disappointed. He had imagined that after reuniting with what was left of his family, he would feel better. But neither the presence of Valery or Robbie made the absence of Loreen les painful. The terrible things he had done were still there and he couldn't help but to feel frustrated. He could never go back to be the one he was before the Apocalypse, no matter how hard he tried.

Finally, he broke the hug. Valery's face was covered in tears. "Roberta? Have you seen her?"

"She's okay, Val." Santiago reassured her as he rubbed her shoulders.

"I want to see her, please let me.."Valery begged pathetically as she started sobbing.

Santiago made a disgusted grin. He couldn't recall his sister being so weak. Still, he sighted and explained, "There's a man who runs the town and everyone calls him the Governor. He has offered you and Robbie shelter and protection under one condition."

Valery whipped away her tears because she knew how much Thiago hated weakness. She tried to look as determined as possible when he stared at her brother, "Anything."

Santiago scratched the back of his head, not sure how to present his idea, "See, I'm not sure what the fuck is wrong with this guy. The thing is that he's like obsessed or something with recovering his family and I was thinking maybe you guys could be his..?"

Valery blinked a couple times, trying to make sure she had heard correctly. "So he wants to adopt Robbie?"

"I'm not sure, he said he would think about it but I guess he meant the whole deal." Santiago tried to avoid saying the actual words.

"You mean like I..?" Valery's eyes shot wide open when she understood what Santiago meant. "Are you insane?! Do you think I'm some kind of whore who would…!"

"I'm thinking you guys need to be safe!" Santiago barked out, taking a step forward and making Valery flinch. His eyes were filled with anger as he continued, "Damn it, Val! The girl who used to be my sister didn't gave a damn about the others as long as she could protect her own! Where the hell is that girl now?!"

"You have no idea of the things I've done to keep Robbie safe." Valery muttered as her fists clenched to fists.

"But you have gone soft and that's the reason you lost Robbie on the first place! The girl I met wouldn't take shit from anyone, the girl that used to be my sister would see the opportunity we've got here!" Santiago exploded, yelling as he threw his hands to the air.

Valery had to admit he had a point. She had let her walls down and that had only lead to people using her and then disposing her like a broken toy. Hadn't she let Daryl into her heart? And how had that ended? No, she won't let anyone hurt her again. She looked up to Thiago and declared, "I'll do it."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Damn it Valery!" Daryl exclaimed as he explored the deserted streets. He had supposed that Valery wouldn't get away that fast but there was no trace of her anywhere to be seen. Daryl kept walking, trying not to stand out to much. It was almost impossible since every three minutes a patrol of armed men circled the streets. Daryl wasn't sure what would he say to Valery when he found her. He hoped that the fact that he had chosen to stay behind would be enough for her.

And if it came to choose between her or Merle…well, he had decided to cross that bridge when he reached it. "Why can0t be all a fucking big happy family?" Daryl though with a small smirk.

And that was his last though before something hit his face and everything went black.


	22. Things We do For Love

**Leyshla Gisel:** Good things are coming down soon I promise! Thanks for reading! **FanFicGirl10:** I was actually doubting about putting Andrea in the story but your review made up my mind and I think the result it's pretty interesting so thanks! **Nicholetta****:** I don't know how this is going to end yet but if Robbie dies I'd be as devastated as you guys!

**Finally, thanks again for sticking around guys! I know that mid season is a terrible time for all of us. But TWD is back and I still have tons of ideas for this one! Also a mild WARNING!, the next chapter is going to be dark as hell including a very explicit sexual abuse scene. If you want to skip it, I'll make sure you can keep reading the story without too much trouble. And I'm dying to hear your comments on the big secret that comes out right at the end of this chapter!**

**-OoO-OoO-OoO-**

Valery was done waiting. Santiago had instructed her to wait outside the Governor's office until she was called but she couldn't simply sit there when Roberta could be waiting at the other side of the door. She decided to take her chances and she entered the room without even knocking. Inside, there were two men and one woman. The middle aged woman was blonde with blue eyes, and she seemed surprised by Valery's intrusion. One of the men was sitting on a kitchen table, pouring tea into some cups. When Valery came in he looked up. Arranged his glasses and offered a shy smile before proceeding with his task. But it was the second man the one that immediately attracted Valery's attention.

He was clearly the leader. His face showed not surprise but a confident calm that freaked Valery out a little. He looked ordinary but he had this aura of authority that Valery had only seen once before on Rick. But this man had also a dark shadow upon him that made him look dangerous. The woman next to him smiled, "Hi, my name is Andrea."

Valery took a step forward, trying to look confident as she shook the woman's hand. "My pleasure. I'm Valery."

Andrea was about to say something but the governor interrupted her. " Andrea could you be so kind to escort Robbie to the arena."

Valery glanced at the Governor. He hadn't lost an inch of his tranquility as he mentioned Robbie. Valery felt the blood drain off her face and her heart pounding violently against her chest. Andrea noticed none of this and she gave Valery another smile, "Could you believe it? They found a little girl wondering outside the town! Who knows what would have happened to her if we hadn't found her!" Andrea seemed sincere and that made things easier for Valery when she tried her best to smile back.

"Lucky her!" Valery tried to transmit as much excitement as she could but her voice sounded too weak.

"Okay, I'll have to go now. I'll see you down the arena." Andrea said cheerfully before walking out of the room.

The Governor turned to the man drinking tea and ordered, "Milton, why don't you go check the little girl as well." Milton gave the Governor a hesitant look but finally he stood up, gave a court nod to Valery and followed Andrea. Valery waited until he had closed the door after him before speaking.

"How much does she knows?" Valery asked and the Governor grinned.

"Enough. She's aware of the terrorist that tried to take down the town and she thinks you and Robbie were rescued from them by my men. I'd like to keep her under that impression." Valery perceived the implicit threat on the Governor's last words.

"As you wish." Valery agreed. She knew that the faster they sort ot the terms of the arrangement, the faster she could see Robbie.

"Now, I think that you noticed the first test I set up for you." The Governor stood up and walked slowly towards Valery.

"Yeah, probably you thought I would freak out when I heard Robbie's name or something like that." Valery reasoned with a small smile. The Governor was now inches away from her and he placed his hands on her shoulders. Valery repressed a shrug and she stared directly into his eyes, defeating her fear.

"Congratulations, you just passed the second test." The Governor declared, pleased to see she had not flinched under his touch.

"So how does this work? You make Robbie call you daddy, you fuck me in your back room and we're all a happy family?" Valery asked, her practical sense imposing over the disgust she felt at being touched by that man.

The Governor chuckled and Valery could felt his warm breath tingling in her neck. "You know at the beginning I thought it would be easier to kill you and keep the girl."

"Santiago would have killed you then." Valery simply stated and The Governor's grin widened.

"Yeah, that's why I decided to wait until I saw you before taking any decisions. And I can tell, Valery that I made the right choice. " The governor ran his fingers up and down Valery's arms before settling both of his hands on each side of her hips. "You know, I'd like to keep this part of our arrangement private. I don't want this to be an obstacle in my relationship with Andrea, so I trust you'd be able to be …discrete." The Governor practically breathed out the last word as he leaned in to kiss Valery's neck. "I need to make sure that…" The governor moved his hands up to Valery's chest, squeezing her boobs brusquely. Valery jolted in pain but she managed to keep a straight face, "…you're absolutely loyal to me."

Valery closed her eyes and prepared her mind to abandon her body but The Governor wasn't going to make it easy for her. He pulled away and said, "You know if you don't give me something to work here, I might decide to kill all of your family instead."

Those words were all it took. Valery focused her eyes on The Governor and he noticed the fiery sparkle on them. Passionately, Valery grabbed the neck of The Governor and pulled him into a heated kiss.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl opened his eyes and saw the blurry image of a dark room. "Oh, you´re awake. That's great." A male voice declared. Daryl blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. There was another man on the room, sitting across Daryl. He was young and his bronzed skin was covered up in tattoos. He was smiling at Daryl as he played with the butcher knife on his hands. Daryl tried to move, but his hands and feet were tied to the chair he was sitting on. "Who the fuck are ya?" Daryl spitted out but the man just chuckled.

"You shouldn't be so rude, Daryl. After all, we're family. Although I'm not sure how am I supposed to label our relationship? I mean how does fact that you've been banging my lil´ sister ties you up with me…" Santiago was smiling but Daryl's face had gone pale.

"You're Valery's brother." Daryl realized out loud. "Where I she? Where is Robbie? Are they okay?"

"What question am I supposed to answer first?" Santiago frowned but his smile jus grew wider as he continued, "Well Robbie is safe, thanks for asking. Last time I saw her she was getting a bath and new clothes. Valery is okay too, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Where is she?" Daryl muttered. There was something about the emptiness on Santiago's look that made his blood boil.

"Probably on top of the governor, riding him like crazy. I rather not think of the details." Santiago's smile faded for a moment but quickly reappeared.

"If that bastard touches her, I…"Daryl could barely contain his anger but Thiago shook his head.

"Oh, my God! You don't think I would let anyone rape my sister, do you?" Santiago walked towards Daryl and leaned in to whisper on his ear. "No, she spread her legs for the Governor…willingly."

Daryl leaned forward, ready to attack but he was restrained by the ropes. "Fucking liar! I'ma kill all of you! She wouldn't do that!"

"No? Why not?" Santiago smirked and asked, "Because she loves you?" Then he shrugged and added, "For all I know you haven't been able to say it back."

Daryl stopped struggling. Santiago was right; he had never said Valery how he felt about her. And he had to admit that by not taking her side back there with Rick, he might had given her a bad impression. But would Valery run to the arms of another man just to make him pay for his betrayal? He knew the answer to that.

Santiago noticed the despair on his face and shook his head again, "Man, don't feel bad. That's just the way Valery is. See, life it's not easy when you're living on the streets since you can remember. We would do anything to survive."

"And that includes selling out your sister for protection? Letting that guy use her like…like a toy. And for what? Just to live a little longer? You're a twisted son of a bitch." Daryl tried to repress the urge to cry. Images of Valery being taken by another man flooded his mind.

"No, no!" Santiago lost his coolness and yelled at Daryl. On the brief seconds that he lost his temper, Daryl could see the craziness on his sight. "You're not seeing the big picture here, idiot! All I need is the Governor to trust me enough to let his guard down and then, I'll slice his throat."

"Why can't you people just have elections?" Daryl commented sarcastically, making Thiago chuckle.

"Do you think I care about the useless people living on this town?" Santaigo asked with one eyebrow raised.

"You're going to kill them too." Daryl realized and he couldn't help but to feel scared. This guy was a complete psycho, like the ones on the movies. It was obvious he felt no remorse of so ever.

"It would be easy. Most of them had never held a weapon before. They had been living like parasites over the last year, having birthday parties and barbecues while some of us risk our lives out there." The hate on Santiago's voice was obvious on every word. He seemed to be lost on his thoughts until he remembered Daryl was still there. "I got to say, you have some crappy luck. See, most of my sister's lovers end up dead."

"I know what happen to Robbie's dad." Daryl admitted, trying to earn some time.

"Oh, do you? Do you know he was still alive and that Valery abandoned him to die alone in the street like a dog?" Santiago seemed to be amused by Daryl's shocked face.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. She just kneeled and he whispered something to her and then she took off without even looking back. It took me a few seconds to understand but when I managed to overcome the idea, I went there and shot him again." Santiago didn't seem to understand the relevance of his words. "I'm not sure why did I missed the fist shot; probably because it was too dark."

"You killed Leon? You killed your sister's boyfriend?" Daryl was shocked. All his suspicions were confirmed, this guy was completely insane.

" I did what I had to do." Santiago simply stated. "Now, Daryl. Enough talking." He announced as he moved forward with the knife on his hands.


	23. Chapter 23

WARINING GUYS! THIS IS AN EXTREME EXPLICIT CHAPTER! And it might be a little polemic. See, I don't think any woman can enjoy rape **but ****Leyshla Gisel **suggested that Valery might subconsciously enjoy being with the governor and I think that's an interesting point. I tried to explore it the best I could.** FanFicGirl10 **I think that Andrea just tries to ignore the bad things around her because she's so freaking selfish! Anyway glad you enjoyed this!

Thanks to BloodRedRose24 for faving this, it's always nice to have new faces around here

And guys, I'd like to see how many people it's still reading this because I'm going to be crazy busy this next week and I want to prioritize my stories. That means that I will update them all but I will update faster the ones with more readers.

-OoO-OoO-oO-

Valery moaned out loud. Every woman should be able to do three things in life: change a flat tire, take off their bra without taking of their shirts and faking a decent moan. But still, Valery repressed the urge to gag when the Governor shoved his tongue down her throat. But Valery put on a brave face and returned the kiss as well as she could. The Governor growled with impatient and he pulled away. "Strip." He ordered coldly.

"_That's it?"_ Valery though with a mixture of sadness, anger and disgust "_Daryl would have never just ordered me to take my clothes off. He would have undressed me himself, like men are supposed to.."_ Valery caught her mind wondering just in time to come back to reality. She pulled her tank top over her head and started undoing her jeans. The Governor undressed as well and they both remained silent as they worked the clothes off. Valery was the first one to finish and she stared at The Governor as he struggled to take his shoes off. The Governor kept the eye pad on and Valery thought he looked like a pirate. She would have busted out laughing if the situation wasn't so unpleasant. Finally, they both looked at each other. Valery wanted to cover up her body when she felt the Governor's eyes devouring her. She had keep on the black lace underwear Santiago had handed her before sending her to the Governor. (And that had probably been the most awkward moment between the two brothers as in…ever)

Valery knew that she was supposed to be mad at her brother for doing this but that's the way she had been raised, to always obey his orders. The Governor didn't waste any time. He attacked her breast with her mouth, biting all the way down her neck. He disposed the bra quickly and Valery closed her eyes. One of his hands massaged her right breast as his tongue played with her other nipple. Valery flinched and whimpered when the Governor but her nipple but she dissimulated it by running her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer.

The Governor wasn't a patient man and he actually tore apart the lace panties off Valery. Her eyes filled with tears when the fabric tore against her skin but he didn't cared. He roughly spread Valery's legs apart and started circling around her sensitive spot. Valery felt an electric current going though her body. Most to her displease she felt pleasure as the Governor massaged her vigorously. Valery felt ashamed of herself but she couldn't really control it. The Governor wasn't making it any easier. He had remained at eye level with Valery and he was clearly enjoying the pleasured grimace on her face. "Yeah babe, this is what a real man feels like."

Valery couldn't help herself when she dug her nails into the Governor's shoulders when he slipped a finger inside her. She let out a small whimper as the Governor worked her fingers inside and out of her body. Remembering that she was in fact supposed to act like she wanted him, she matched his rhythm with her hips. "_This is soo wrong, I'm not supposed to be enjoy…"_ Valery's thoughts cut off when the Governor stopped.

Valery didn't had time to think anything else because the Governor grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head down. With his leg, he forced her knees to bend until she was kneeling in front of her. He pulled her hair back violently and when Valery screamed, he took the opportunity and stick himself into her mouth. He was so big that she started chocking and tears filled her eyes. The Governor thrusted into her mouth as Valery tried her best not to suffocate. Inevitably, tears started rolling down her eyes. All she could think of was Daryl. The tears were now running down her cheeks as she thought what he would think of her after this.

At that same moment, the Governor stopped. He pulled Valery's shoulder up and dragged her to the bed. "Climb In there." The Governor ordered with a fierce look on his eyes. Valery did as she was told but she couldn't hide her sobbing anymore. The Governor placed himself on top of her and Valery looked away to hide her tears.

It was useless to put on any resistance when the Governor finally entered her. He didn't cared much about the acting either, so Valery simply lay there lifelessly as he thrusted into her. She was now crying wholeheartedly. The Governor was aggressive and his thrusts were deep and strong. Valery's body slide up a few inches every time he attacked her. Much to her dismay, her body started reacting. She felt a tingling sensation spreading through herself and her hands gripped on the bed sheets. As the Governor increased his rhythm, Valery let out a cry of pleasure as she came unwillingly. "You're so warm and delicious, babe. Don't hold yourself." The Governor whispered into her ear as he continued pushing into her. His movements had become frenetic and Valery realized his orgasm was close too. She let out a relieved sigh, thinking this would be over soon.

The Governor pulled out but he was far from being through with her. "Turn around." He said, having a bit of trouble speaking through his lust. Valery gave him a quizzically look but eventually she understood his intentions. Her eyes widened with terror, "No, no please. Please don't do this."

The Governor smirked, realizing she would probably never have done this before. And that just made him more excited about it. Valery whimpered and begged as her hands trailed up and down the Governor's chest, "Please I'll do anything you want. Please, just…just take me like this."

"I'm not wasting a condom on a filthy slut like you." The governor muttered out with frustration. "I'm making you a favor. Or would you rather carry my child for nine months?"

That seemed to have an effect on Valery. She stopped crying, finally getting the idea that she had no say on what was about to happen. The Governor memorized the desperation look on her face before yanking her shoulders and flipping her over. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The Governor didn't continue right the way. He took a few seconds to contemplate Valery's body. She really had a nice back but her ass was just amazing. The Governor trailed down his fingers through her back until he finally caressed her ass softly.

This was kind of new to him as well. His wife had never consented to this and he had never gathered enough courage to ask Andrea to do this from him. But he wanted to do it, oh, yeah he wanted it so badly. Ha was hardly able to contain himself as he positioned his body properly. He took a deep breath and entered Valery's body. Valery screamed out in pain, but the Governor ignored her. It felt even more incredible than what he had imagined. Just the feeling of her tighten up around him made him want to explode. He placed his hands on both sides of her hips to steady himself as he thrusthed rhythmically into her. Valery's quiet sobbing against the pillows began annoying him so he grabbed her hair and pulled her had back. She screamed in pain again and her whole body arched but all he could feel was pleasure. Unfortunately, Valery had started feeling it too. After the immense pain she had felt when he pushed into her, the familiar sense of electricity came back to her body. She tried to fight it away but it was a natural reaction and there was nothing she could do. She had her second orgasm and she couldn't help but to moan and cry out in pleasure. The Governor knew he hadn't had much time left but he wanted to do one last thing before coming inside Valery. He placed a hand on her wet center and started circling it as he thrusted inside her.

It was too much for her. With a loud cry, she came. The feeling of her wetness on her hands did it for the Governor and he exploded inside her tight ass. Valery felt repulsed when she felt the warm liquid filling her but she was too exhausted to think about it. She collapsed into the bed and The Governor did the same.

Minutes passed and Valery sobbed quietly with her face buried inside the pillow. She felt filthy and used. Even though she was mad at Daryl and she didn't though they would met again, she couldn't help but to wonder what would he think of her if he ever found out about this. The worst part was that she had actually felt pleasure at some point. She had came twice and the tingling feeling of her orgasms were still printed on her body. What did that said about her? She was some kind of nymphomaniac freak? She curled up as she felt the Governor standing up.

"Get dressed." He ordered coldly as he tossed her clothes.

Valery gathered them with embarrassment and pressed them against her bare chest. She tried not to sound too weak when she asked, "Can I have a bath first?"

The Governor gave her a cocky smile as he put on his boxers. "I thought you couldn't wait to see your daughter." Then his eyes darkened as he approached her. He took a strand of hair oof her face and placed it behind her ear. "Besides, I'll be taking your ass again later tonight. And I want everyone out there to smell me in your body and know that you belong to me."

He leaned in to kiss her as a tear rolled down her face.


	24. Welcome To The End Of The World

**So, I hope you like this chapter! I had a blast writing it out and I think it turned out quite well. I want to wait a little to write the next one because I want to see what happens to Daryl on the show! I'm sorry if the rescue scene doesn't match the TV one perfectly but I had too many elements playing along. So enjoy! AND A LITTLE POLL AT THE END!**

**Leyshla Gisel:** Glad you enjoyed last one!

**FanFicGirl10: **I was completely disgusted by the Governor on my last chapter! And I do blame them too but I mean, the world they live in it's super chaotic and crazy! I kind of understand the fact that they screw up once in a while!

WELCOME TO:

**fatelover99**

**NormanReedusBitch **(Your pen name it's like completely perfect for the story! Awesome!)

**SangoIchimaru**

-OoO-OoO-

Valery froze when she saw Robbie. Her daughter was standing across the crowd, clenching to Andrea's hand and staring at Valery with fearful eyes. Robbie was wearing a clean new red dress with a floral print and her curls felt loosely around her shoulders. She could have passed for one of the kids of the town if it wasn't for the general state of tension in every single one of her muscles. Valery felt her eyes watering at the image of the little girl. Suddenly, it was all worthy. Because no matter if Valery's time with the Governor was a lot like hell, she would do it all over again as many times as it took to keep Robbie safe. Robbie's single presence made her feel stronger, braver. She tried to take a step forward but the Governor's grip grew painfully tighter.

"Not yet, Valery." The man whispered on her ear. But this time his voice caused no shivers on Valery's body. She just stood there, staring at Robbie and silently trying to convey all her feelings through her look. Robbie got the message because she nodded lightly and relaxed a bit. "If you move from this exact spot, I'll blow her brains out. Got it?"

Valery just nodded and the governor patted her shoulder. He walked across the yard towards Andrea. He whispered something to her and then pulled her in for a kiss. Valery couldn't care less about the couple. Instead, she focused on the presence that had just materialized on her side_. "Te mueves como un fantasma, Thiago_." Valery praised the ability of her brother to move through the town without being spotted. She could tell that Santiago smirked at the comment without even having to look at him. "I get it now." She declared with a relieved voice, still facing forward as she talked. Santiago frowned with confusion but Valery continued, "I get why you made me do such horrible things. I get why you're so damn angry all the time. I get it. Because when I look at Robbie and then I try to imagine what it would feel like to have her taken away from me, I know that my life would lost any meaning it might ever had."

"My only purpose is to keep you girls safe." Santiago declared, trying to keep a straight face. He had never given her sister much credit. Usually she was just someone he could boss around and command but something had changed in her. She didn't needed his protection anymore.

"_No, Thiago no es cierto."_ Valery shook her head with a sad smile. "You lost your purpose in this life the moment Loreen died. And as much as you care for me or Robbie, we will never give you the feeling she gave you. You're broken, Thiago and I don't know how to fix you."

"You can't." Santiago tried to ban the tears on his eyes from rolling down his face.

-OoO-OoO-

"thiago stop!"Loreen cried out as she stumbled behind him. Thiago turned around just in time to caught her body as it collapsed.

"Lore, are you hurt? What's wrong? Are you tired? Do you want water?" Thiago quickly asked as he pulled her body to rest on his back. When he touched Loreen's forehead, he realized she was burning up with fever.

"Something is wrong Thiago…" Loreen breathed out with difficulty.

Santiago knew she was right but he shook his head and wrapped his arms around his wife. "No, baby. It's all good." He placed a kiss on Loreen's temple and added, "You just need to rest for a while."

Loreen didn't had the energy necessary to argue with him. She reached for his jaw with her hands and slowly she started tracing circular patterns on his skin. Loreen hadn't realkized she was humbling a song. Santiago fought back the tears as he embraced Loreen tightly. She was the only thing he had left on this world. It felt like she was the only thing tying him up to his sanity. The only reason why he had accepted the fact that the world was ending was because Loreen was on his side. And now, she was slipping away form his hands.

"Thiago?" Loreen asked weakly and Santiago just growled in response. "My wrist hurts."

"Let me see." Santiago delicately took Looreen's hand. The bandage she had carefully wrapped around the bite wound was now covered in blood and dirt. Santiago frowned as he undid the bandage, thinking they would have to replace it if they didn't want it to be infected. When he finally was able to take a look at the wound, he realized it was too late. The whole area around the cut had turned black and the cut itself was expelling a yellowish liquid. Santiago felt the urge to cry.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was no doctor, I mean he hadn't even finished highschool. There was no way he could deal with something like that. But then again, he had to. They were in the middle of the woods, all alone. And every trace of civilization was gone.

"It's bad, huh?" Loreen asked and the chuckled. "I knew it was bad, but I didn't said anything because I tough maybe I could resist long enough to have the baby. Oh, thiago the baby, what would happen to him?"

Santiaogo was confused at first, but when he understood the words of his wife, his heart broke. "You pregnant baby?"

"Yeah, surprise!" Loreen faked an exited voice and the chuckled again. Santiago placed his hand on his wife belly. His vision was getting blurry because of the tears. "It would have been great, Thiago. You'd have been a great father. You would…"

Suddenly, Loreen's hand dropped to her side and her muscles relaxed. Satiago panicked, laying her body on the floor and shaking his wife's shoulder's, "Lore, Lore, come back!"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"We have terrorist living inside this town…" the Governor continued his speech but neither Thiago or Valery were listening anymore. But suddenly both of their head shot up when the Governor hollered, "One of these terrorist it's our own Merle Dixon!"

"Dixon?" Valery whispered softly. Across the crowd, Robbie was frowning with confusion as well.

Valery didn't paid much attention to the rest of the speech because her hear stopped beating when a familiar figure was dragged to the arena with his face covered. Valery suppressed a gasp when Daryl's face was uncovered. Daryl blinked a couple times, adjusting his eyes to the light. The next thing he saw was Merle, safe and sound, standing right next to him. Then a scream caught his attention. He looked over to the source of the sound and saw Valery launching forward and being restrained by Thiago's strong hands.

"Daryl_! Suéltame!_ Daryl!" Valery struggled to free herself from her brother's grip around her waist, but it was useless.

Daryl tried to take a step forward, but a couple of men stopped him. The Governor observed the scene with a pleased grin on his face. Calmly, he walked over to Daryl until he was face to face with him. "Is that your girl, Daryl?"

Daryl's eyes locked with the Governor's as he replied, "Hell yes. Ya' better let her go right now or.."

"Go ahead, finish that sentence." The Governor encouraged with a chuckle. Then he whispered on Daryl's ear, "Besides, she's here on her own will. She split her legs for me willingly…" Daryl's body tensed when he heard those words. He had convinced himself that Santiago was lying, that there was no way Valery would betray him like that. But hearing it from the Governor made him doubt again. "Oh, yeah Daryl, she did. She even went on all four legs and let me fuck her on that tight ass she has…"

Daryl couldn't take it anymore. "Son of a bitch! I'll kill you mother fucker! I swear I'lll kill you!" Daryl barked out as he struggled against the men restraining him.

A few meters away, a similar fight was taking place. Valery's attempts to escape had been so violent that now both brothers were struggling on the floor. Thiago finally managed to straddle Valery's body and pin her hands over her head.

"Calm the fuck down! You're going to screw things up, Vale!" Thiago yelled as Valery kept resisting.

"He came back for me! He came back for me! You got to help him, Thiago! _Sueltame, porfavor!" _ Valery yelled back until her brother slapped her face brutally.

"_Pinche perra pendeja!_ Why would you risk everyone's life for a looser like him?!" Thiago was furious and he slapped Valery's face again.

Valery tasted the blood on her mouth and her reaction was to spit at her brother's face, "Because I love him, Santiago. I love him…" Valery repeated.

Santiago whipped away the spit off his face with the back of his hand and then snapped. "You loved Leon and still you let him die alone in the street like a dog."

Valery's body froze and Santiago realized his mistake but it was too late. He looked down at his sister who had the word disbelief written all over her face. "I had to do it, Valery. He was leaving the gang and I…"

Valery took half a second to assimilate the fact that her own brother had murdered the love of her life. Then, gathering all her strength, she managed to free one of her hands and punch Thiago's jaw. Santiago stumbled back, giving the chance for Valery to stand up.

The fight between Daryl and Merle had started as Valery and Thiago argued. But just about when Valery was about to ran towards Daryl, not caring about the walkers aroud, a heavy cloud of smoke covered the arena.

Valery had to shield her eyes with her arm as she walked blindly. "Daryl! Robbie!" She called out, but there was no reply. Valery's eyes stung with pain but she kept moving forward. She heard gunshots being fired next to her, screams all over the place and commands being barked. Finally, someone grabbed her arm. Valery looked up and found Daryl's face.

She didn't thought about it. She simply launched forward and smashed her lips against his. The kiss was brief but Daryl placed his hand on her back and pulled her closer. But Valery broke the kiss and stared at Daryl. "Robbie, let's find Robbie."

Daryl just nodded and dragged Valery through the smoke. Somewhere along, Merle joined them. Rick was there as well and Valery could hear him saying, "Hurry up, we have to go!"

Desperately, Valery looked around for her daughter.

"There!" Daryl pointed out towards a blunt red siluette stumbling through the smoke. "Roberta!" Daryl screamed.

"_Nena, por acá!"_ Valery called out as well.

Roberta heard the voice of her mother among the chaos and started running to her. Within a few more seconds, she was able to spot Valery's relieved face and Daryl standing next to her. Daryl's lips curved up slightly when he spotted the girl, while Valery extended her arms to receive her daughter. Robbie ran towards them, happy to see it was all about to end.

Then there was a gunshot and Robbie collapsed on the ground. "No!" Valery and Daryl yelled at the same time as they rushed to the girl.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Not far from the scene, the Governor lowered his gun as he smiled cruelly.

-OoO-OoO-Ooo-

**I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT THE POLL IS ABOUT. ROBBIE DIES OR LIVES? REVIEW PLEASE! :D**


	25. It's hard to say goodbye

**Hey guys, well lost of drama and angst on this one. But things really get wild on the next chapter ;) **

**Leyshla Gisel:** When he confronts it about it, it will be sooooo good, I promise!

**FanFicGirl10:** I think that Robbie is what makes Val different from other Ocs, Like, she will always be Valery's priority even over Daryl ;) just wait and see what I've planned.

**Isopt:** I was super happy when I received your review! He leído otros fics con espanglish pero la mayoría usa traductores para la parte en español y termina siendo algo raro. Valery is just a strong Latin woman, so different from the stereotyped OC. Glad you like this!

**NormanReedus:** thanks! I'll start reading your story this weekend, I promise.

**justanothergirl12**, welcome dear!

-OoO-OoO-

Valery just froze. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. She just stood there, among the chaotic shooting and screaming. Valery just stared at the motionless body of Robbie lying on the ground a few meters away from where she was standing. "Rob!" Daryl yelled as he rushed to help the little girl. Valery wanted to follow him, but she couldn't get her feet to move. Unfortunately, the hunter hadn't been the only one who reacted. Thiago had recovered quickly and since he was closer, he was the first to reach the little girl. He kneeled next to Robbie, not quite sure what to do.

Robbie's body was lying face down and her little hands were sprawled to her sides. Thiago carefully placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. But he was suddenly shoved away from the girl. When he looked up, Daryl was pointing at him with his crossbow.

"C'mon , man! Do you seriously want to do this shit know, _pendejo?"_ Santiago spitted hatefully.

"If you move, I'll put an arrow right through your sick ass brain, fucker." Daryl was so convincing that Thiago hesitantly raised his palms up in a sign of peace. But when he did so, Daryl noticed they were covered in blood. The hunter looked down and what he saw made his heart stop beating.

Robbie´s chest was soaking blood. Her eyes were teary and her gaze was lost and confused as she looked at Daryl without actually recognizing him. Her usually bronzed skin was pale as a ghost and it was covered with tiny drops of sweat.

"_Mami, duele."_ Robbie whispered, too weakly for Daryl to understand what she was saying. _"Duele, duele mucho."_ Robbie cried out in pain, this time a little louder and joining her words with a sob.

Thiago had taken advantage of Daryl's distraction and he placed his arms below the little girl's body. _"Ya no llores. Todo va a estar bien mami." _Santhiago whispered some soothing words to the girl. Somehow they seemed to work because Robbie clenched her little fingers into her uncle's shirt. However, Santiago felt the point of the arrow pressed against his temple when he attempted to lift Robbie's body.

"I mean it, motherfucker. Take your hands off her." Daryl muttered.

Santiago clenched his teeth and snapped back, "_Oye imbecil_, the kid is dying. I'm faster, I'm stronger. It's easier if you let me carry her back to your camp."

"The hell, I ain't letting you come back to us, sick bastard!" Daryl spitted out.

"Daryl!" Rick's voice startled Daryl. He turned to see his leader standing right next to Valery. Valery's image was scary. She was just completely absent from the world. Daryl though she would collapse into the ground if it wasn't for Rick's hand placed on her shoulder. Rick seemed to be as worried as him because he yelled, "What the fuck are you doing? We got to get out of here!"

Daryl realized it was true. The smoke had begun dispersing and the bullets were buzzing around. Daryl finally had to give up and he retailed his crossbow. Thiago lifted Robbie's body bridal-style, ignoring the small cry of pain the little girl let out when her body was moved. Daryl jogged back to Rick, who forcefully pulled Valery to join them.

The rest was just a messy blur. Somehow Valery was aware they had all made it out of Woodbury. As they ran through the woods she could hear people calling each other to stay together. It was pretty dark and Valery kept tripping over things. Somewhere she could hear Robbie's soft cried but she wouldn't dare to look for her own daughter. She had the feeling Robbie would die and she wasn't ready to face that. She would never be ready.

So they kept running until they got the road and by the time they finally got there, it was morning. Valery spotted Glenn, whose face lightened up when he saw them coming off the woods. But his expression changed immediately when he spotted Merle. Another screaming fight began but Valery wouldn't hear any of it.

She looked over to Thiago, who was gasping for air. His body was covered in blood and sweat. Valery noticed a deep cut on his lip on the place she had hit him. Silently she aked the question that had tortured for hours, "Is she dead?"

"Not yet." Santaigo spelled out.

Valery then caught a phrase of the discussion going on right next to them. "I won't leave my brother behind Rick!"

Valery heard that and she snapped. She properly snapped. Storming over Daryl, pushing Rick out of her way until she was face to face with the hunter, she yelled, "But you would leave me, right? You'd leave us?!"

Daryl was taken aback by Valery's behavior. He'd never seen her act like this. It was like they were back to the point when they had just met, when they practically hated each other. But now there was something else burning deep down on Valery's eyes. She was filled with resentment.

"What the fuck are ya' talking about? I went back for you, stupid bitch!" Daryl spitted out, taking a step to the front.

Valery didn't backed down. "Don't you dare! The only reason I was alone there was because you asshole were about to leave my daughter behind. You never cared about us!" Valery couldn't help it, something inside of her broke down. Tears slipped down her face as she tried to keep up her thought bitch act together.

"Valery,,,that ain't true." Daryl softened his voice but then Merle decided to interrupt.

"No bitch gives orders to a Dixon, not now not ever. C'om on lil' brother, it will be like the old times. Just me an you! No bitches telling us what to…"

"Shut up!" Daryl hissed and then turned to Valery.

Valery let out a humorless laugh, "Go ahead Daryl, leave. You belong right next to this scumbag."

Daryl felt his blood boiling. Even if Merle was an asshole, Daryl always felt the need to stand up for him. Suddenly, Thiago's speech came to Daryl's mind and he attacked Valery, "Don't ya pretend you're any better, Valery. Your brother is a fucking psycho and you're a whore."

Valery's face reflected the hurt she felt for just a second before returning to her emotionless state. But Daryl know her too well. That little flick of emotion had been all he needed to know that it was true. Valery had slept with the Governor. And just like that, Daryl was blinded with anger, "That's right you little whore. I know that your brother sold you off like a cow to save his ass. And I know you spread your legs and rode the Governor like the whore you…"

Valery felt an unbearable wave of shame washing over her. She could feel the hands of the Governor roaming through her body, his breath on her mouth, his cock inside her…

She punched Daryl in the jaw.

The hunter backed up, caressing the place where he had been hit. "Go away then. Have a fucking good life." Valery stated out coldly as she walked away.

Daryl wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. So he just stood there as the rest of the group, Robbie and Valery walked out of his life.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-


	26. Redemption

**This is super long and I'm sorry! But there was not a good spot to cut it off! So…the italics are flashbacks and I know you all hate flashbacks but I could practically see the scenes on my head! And it would be horribly boring to recreate the whole thing on detail. By the way, Thiago was supposed to be dead long ago but…I thought it might be interesting to play with his character a bit. That's it…enjoy!**

**NormanReedus:** your new story is awesome!

**Leyshla Gisel**** :** she's a tough cookie!

**FanFicGirl10:** Let's just say that he will have to work his way back into her life

**justanothergirl12 , T.T24 **and **The Mouse's Rose** Hi, there! *giggles* Welcome

-OoO-OoO-There was blood. And lots of creaming people. That all what Valery can remember. She's been sitting on one of the tables on the prison yard for the last couple of hours. She's been trying her best not to lose her mind as she hears Robbie's piercing screams. Valery tried to stay inside, she really tried. But…

_Red; all over. Red on her hands, red on her clothes. Red covering Robbie's body. Red just as the dress someone had removed from her small and fragile body. How could a person so small contain such a huge amount of blood?_

Valery trusted Hershel, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that Robbie's chances were slim. She could tell by the look of deep concentration on the vet's face as he worked. She could tell he was trying, but was that enough?

"_The bullet is deep inside. I'll have to dig it out using my fingers." Hershel explaine heavy drop of sweat rolled down his face. Then he looked up to Valery and added, "It won't be pretty."_

And it wasn't. During most of the trip back home, Robbie had been going in and out of consciousness. But as soon as Hershel stuck his fingers on her wound, Robbie's eyes shot open and scream of pain erupted from her mouth. Valery closed her eyes, trying to erase the images from her mind.

"_Hold her down!" Hershel ordered as he tried to steady his patient's body. _

_Surprisingly, the first one to react was Santiago. He walked over to the improvised surgical table and forcefully pinned Robbie's arms down. Carl lent help by taking care of Robbie's legs. Glenn was about to cover the little's girl mouth to muffle her screaming when Valery stepped in. _

"_Let her scream!" she barked out with her fist clenched. "Por dios, can't you see she's in fucking pain?!"_

"_She's going to attract walkers, Valery!" Glenn argued back, but Rick interrupted him._

"_It's okay Glenn, let her scream." The cop ordered before turning to face Valery. He placed a hand on her shoulder and asked softly, "Are you sure you can do this?"_

_Valery was pale as a ghost and her knees were shaking. She was about to tell Rick she was okay when Robbie screamed again. Rick read the complete terror on Valery's face and stared down at her, "You don't have to do this, Val. No one will judge you if you decide…"_

_There was another scream. And this time it was too much for the mother to handle. She swallowed hard as she spitted out, "Outside, now. Please."_

"It shouldn't take much longer." Rick declared as he sat next to Valery. The girl didn't react. Instead, she pointed at the geeks pressing their bodies against the outside fences.

"Do you think they are aware of what happened to them?" Valery asked absent mindedly. "I like to think they don't. That they just turn into these things so suddenly it doesn't give them time to think about what's happening."

"Just say it, Val." Rick sighed, reading the hidden message behind Valery's words.

"I don't think I'll be able to put a bullet on Robbie's head if it comes to that, Rick." Valery turned around to face the cop. She looked exhausted and miserable. "I need you to…"

"No." Rick cut out Valery's phrase before she could end it. Valery raised an eyebrow, but Rick continued. "Everyone thinks they can demand things from me. But I'm tired. Tired of staining my hands with others blood; tired of making sacrifices. If you people want your shit to get done, you're going to have to do it yourselves."

Valery offered Rick a sad smile. "I'm sincerely glad you finally decided to stand up for yourself. "

Rick snorted and shook his head, "Same goes for you. That was a pretty good jab on Daryl's face."

Valery chuckled. And then her chuckles turned into sobbing. Once she started, she couldn't stop. Rick pulled her into a hug and she clenched to the hem of his shirt. "Let it all out." The ex-cop whispered into her hair as he placed a kiss on her temple. "Just let i..Val! Val" Rick pulled away and stood up immediately. "Do you hear that?"

Valery listened carefully as she whipped away the tears of her face. "No more screams."

Rick extended his hand and Valery took it. "Whatever it's going to be, it's done."

-OoO…..OoO-

"Why the hell you pointed that thing at me?" Merle was pissed off but Daryl wasn't really listening.

As they made their way through the bushes, he realized of what had just happened. Merle was right, though. The logical thing would have been to take those supplies. After all, those guys owned them their lives. But Daryl couldn't do it. Hell, he couldn't even stand back and watch Merle doing it. Because something had clicked inside Daryl.

They were all survivors.

Rick, Robbie, little ass kicker, the guys on the road, Merle…they were all on the same ship. And they were all trying their best to keep it from sinking. And instead of helping each other, they were trying to sunk the others. It was ridiculous. A year ago maybe Daryl would have taken the supplies. Or at least he would have looked the other way when Merle did it. But now he understood that for every survivor that died, everyone else loose.

And that only made him more furious about the Governor. He had the power to help people. He could have provided a safe haven for everyone at the prison. Instead, he was so sick with power that he had tortured and killed other innocent people.

"Is that something your friend the sheriff thought you?" Merle spitted out and Daryl snapped.

"There was a baby!" his voice sounded surprisingly strong. Merle wasn't used to have Daryl fighting back.

"Oh and if there wasn't one you would have left them?" Merle questioned sarcastically.

"I went back for you! I didn't cut off your hand, you did that! You made them cuff you to that roof because you asked for it!" Daryl was finally letting Merle what he thought. And it felt damn good.

Things escalated quickly after that. Both brother had always had a short fuse and the next thing they know, they were wrestling each other. But the fight ceased when Daryl's back was uncovered. Daryl heard Merle gasping with surprise and he felt the sudden urge to cry. But he didn't, because Dixon boys don't cry.

"I didn't know he…"Merle sounded sincerely sorry, but Daryl simply covered his back as he could and stood up.

"Yeah you did. He did the same to you, that's why you left." Daryl had made a decision. He would go back to the prison and die, if he had to, defending the people he loved.

Merle kept excusing himself but Daryl has started walking away. He know realized what a terrible mistake he had made. Robbie. She could be dead by now and he wouldn't even know it.

"Where are you going?" Merle had never sounded more vulnerable.

"Back where I belong." Daryl answered simply.

"I can come with you." Merle practically was begging for Daryl to stay. "I almost killed the Chinese kid and.."

"Korean…"

"Whatever." Merle replied. Daryl could see he was breaking Merle's heart. "I can come with you, man."

It was true. And it did hurt Daryl. But he had decided he wasn't going to be like his old man. He wasn't going to be like Merle. He would go back and protect his family. He prayed that he would be still in time to see Robbie again. He already knew that Valery would never forgive him for leaving but he would beg and drag to her feet any way. And if Robbie had indeed died, he would do what he knew Valery would ask him to do. He would kill her and that would break his heart forever but it was okay. Because he loved them so much, he would go through hell and back for them.

"You know, I might be the one walking away but you're the one leaving, again." Daryl's voice broke off a little.

"She's not going to forgive you!" Merle called out desperately.

Daryl froze. Without looking back, he replied. "I know. But there are my family too, Merle."

-OoO-oOo-

It was amazing. Valery couldn't be but fascinated by the slow up and down movement of Robbie's chest. Valery had spent the whole night contemplating her daughter; always fearing she would stop breathing. Hershel had already warned her it could take a few days before Robbie finally opened her eyes and then they would be able to know the extent of the damage. But for Valery, just watching her daughter breathing was marvelous.

She extended her hand and delicately whipped off the sweat on Robbie's forehead with a wet towel.

"Remember that song mom used to sing?" Santiago walked towards Valery and sat on the edge of the bunk. He had been waiting the whole night to gather the courage to approach his family.

Valery nodded.

"_Que se quede el infinito sin estrellas__ . __O que pierda el ancho mar su inmensidad__..."_ Valery sang softly and Thiago smirked. _"__Pero el negro de tus ojos que no muera__  
__Y el aroma de tu piel se quede igual__..."_

_"Si perdiera el arcoiris su belleza__ , y__ las flores su perfume y su color__..." _Thiago joined her on the second verse. And for a while, he had the illusion it could all go back to the way it was before. He smiled as they both sang at unison _"__No seria tan inmensa mi tristeza__. __Como aquella de quedarme sin tu amor__..."_

Thiago was about to come closer. To hug Valery and broke down on tears. To beg her to forgive him. To beg her to tell him everything would be fine.

But then Valery stared at him with ice cold eyes as she declared, "I want you out of our lives. As soon as Robbie wakes up, you go away and never come back. You will tell me everything about Leon's dead. I won't kill you, because that would be too easy. I'll let you wonder like those soulless empty corpses. Maybe you can walk up your way to hell and rot there. I don't really care."

Thiago knew he deserved to be treat it like that., But it still broke him down a little. Swallowing the knot on his throat, he nodded.

Suddenly, Hershel appeared on the frame of the cell. He looked upset. "Valery, I think we might have a problem."

-OoO-oOOo-

**Robbie/Daryl interaction next chapter! And here are the lyrics to the song. If any one wants the link to hear it, send me a PM.**

"**Let it stay on indefinitely without stars**

**Or lose the immensity of the wide sea**

**But the black of your eyes that will not die**

**And the smell of your skin to stay well**

**If you lose your beauty, rainbow**

**And flowers their perfume and color**

**It would not be so huge my sadness**

**Like that of running out of your love"**


	27. Not okay

So, what can you expect on this chapter? Some more of Thiago being crazy, finally getting why Leon died, some Robbie-Daryl bonding and then a small Valery- Daryl moment. (because I couldn't resist)

**Leyshla Gisel****:** Daryl and Robbie fluff because you asked for it ;)

**FanFicGirl10**: I adore you, really. How cool is to have a reader who truly gets the layers of your characters and all the little plots you been playing around with?! Thanks for the support, really

And thanks to :

**gunslinger1204** and **ArrowintheBrain **(AWESOME NAME, BY THE WAY)

for adding this to their alerts. Review and enjoy people and Have a nice day

-OoO-oOo-oOo-OoO-

When Robbie opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was pain. A sting of pain on her shoulder made her grimace. But then she tried to touch her left arm with her hand, she discovered she was too tired to move. Actually, her whole body felt numb and heavy. Slowly. she opened her eyes. At the beginning it was all blurry, but eventually she began being able to distinguish shapes and colors. She looked down and saw someone had felt asleep on the edge of her bunk.

"Ma.." Robbie's voice sounded too weak, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Mami."

The sound startled Valery, who immediately jumped up defensively. She looked at her daughter for a few seconds before her eyes lightened and she broke into tears. "Roberta, _mi amor_." She sobbed as she hugged her daughter tightly.

A small cry of pain escaped Robbie's lips when her mother's arms crushed her wound. Valery immediately backed up. "_Perdón"_

"It's okay." Robbie reassured with a small smile.

"My god, I thought I would never see you alive again, _nena_." Valery chuckled as she placed a kiss on her daughter's hand. As she caressed Robbie's hands, Valery asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

Robbie frowned. "Not really. I remember Thiago and then you. I remember running towards Daryl and then falling. I remember Hershel's face ordering me to stay still. And then nothing."

"You were shot down by the Governor." Valery explained, with palpable resent on each one of her words. "We rushed you back to the prison just in time. Herhsel dogged out the bullet out of your arm. It was a tought call, but it seems like you made it, honey."

"Thiago here?" Robbie asked, feeling as she dozed off to sleep again.

"Momentaneusly. I'm planning to kick him out as soon as we sort out some business." Valery frowned.

"Can I see Daryl?" Robbie asked, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Sure." Valery confirmed with a forced smile. "I'll send him to you."

Then Robbie nodded and closed her eyes. Valery stood up and placed a kiss on her daughter's temple before walking out of the cell. The relief she felt was indescribable. She feared she would go floating up to the sky every time her feet took another step. She was smiling by the time she went downstairs.

The group was gathered on the main cell block. Carol and Beth were feeding Judith on one corner. Carl wondered around them, and Valery though he was trying to gain Beth's attention. Rick and Daryl were discussing something as they looked into a map. Michonne was doing pushups. Hershel and Glenn were sitting quietly, both of their gazes fixed on Maggie, who was preparing some food. And Merle and Thiago were playing cards sitting on the floor.

Daryl's head shot up when he saw Valery entering the room. It was a bizarre vision. She was crying but there was a big smile on her lips. Rick followed Daryl's eyes and noticed the young woman standing in front of them. "Valery?"

"She's awake." Valery simply said and then chuckled. "She's awake, Rick!"

The whole group erupted into cheers and laughs. Rick rushed towards Valery and she jumped to his open arms. For a few seconds she spin her around as he laughed. Finally he settled her down and cupped her face as she sobbed, "It's okay, Val."

Daryl felt a sting of pain on his heart at the image of the couple. He knew that Rick wouldn't try anything with Valery. But the affection and happiness on her eyes were directed to the cop. Lately, every look Valery gave to Daryl was completely emotionless and cold. So yeah, he felt a little envious of his friend.

Most of the group lined up to extend their good desires and prayers to the mother. Only Merle, Daryl and Thiago stood on the sidelines. Once the joy vanished, Valery looked at Daryl from across the room

"Robbie wants to see you." Valery's words caused the room to felt into an awkward silence. Daryl simply nodded and walked over to the girl. She was about to pass right by her when she held his arm. The contact of Valery's hand with the muscles on Daryl's arm was enough to tense his whole body. "She doesn't know you left." Valery confessed on a whisper.

So Valery had somehow preserved the image Robbie had of him. Daryl was glad she did so. "Thanks."

Valery just nodded as she let go of the arm of the hunter.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Here." Valery offered the cup of coffee to her brother as he took a seat across from him. They had agreed to met on the darkest hour of the night to finally clean the skeletons on the closet.

Thiago grinned. "I hate coffee."

"I know." Valery sighed as she bit the sleeve of her red sweater. "But you might need it. It's going to be a long night."

"Actually, it's quite simple..."Santiago argued as he took a sip from his coffee and grimaced with disgust at its taste. "I killed your boyfriend, the father of your daughter. I'm a monster, you should hate me. That's about it."

Valery clenched her hands into fists. "Why? The night you did...such horrible thing...what the fuck were you thinking?!"

Thiago chuckled as he used his thumb to clean a drop of coffee that was sliding down the cup. "No, sis. This started long before that night." Thiago noticed Valery's confusion and sighed. "Started the night you told Leon you were pregnant. Poor devil showed up at my doorstep, crying his heart out. He was fucking scared. He thought of leaving you, you know?"

Valery nodded. "But he stayed."

_"Si, se quedo_. But he only stayed after we talked for hours. He told me how scared he was of messing up, of not being able to support you girls_...pura mamada_. We stayed up until the morning and when he left the house, he was way more confident and calm. But right when he was about to leave, he turned around and said to me the words that sealed his fate." Santiago seemed almost resigned, like he wished things would be different.

"He wanted out of the gang." Valery guessed.

"I'm gonna get my act together, clean myself up real nice for them." Thiago took another sip of the coffee. "His words, not mine."

"Why didn't you let him out?" Valery questioned as her voice broke off. But she had no more tears to spill.

"I did. And that what killed him." Santiago pointed out with a frown. "Things started getting messy. The guys started doubting me, saying I was weak. Rival gangs used him to show everyone that I was going soft. One day, the guys came to me and gave me an ultimatum. Do you remember Carlos?" Thiago asked with a smile.

"The fat guy who used to follow you around all the time?" Valery asked and Thiago nodded.

"He wanted the control of the gang. He said if I didn't killed Leon, I would be kicked out of the business. And he would take matters into his hands. Meaning he would kill Leon, Robbie and you. Just to show everyone he was better than me." Thiago was bitter now and every words he said was muttered through his clenched teeth. "I took a practical decision. One dead was better than three." Thiago grinned as he added. "Well, there were actually two dead that night, but I'm not apologizing for killing Carlos."

"That's why you spared me that night." Valery concluded, finally understanding many things. Surprisingly, she felt no sadness. After the entire thing she had been through, those times seemed too far away to wake up any feeling on her heart. It was like an old movie playing over and over on her head. And she finally got to see the end of it.

"There's something I don't understand." Thiago spoke, startling Valery out of her thoughts. "You loved Leon and the poor little shit was bleeding to dead. I saw you kneeling next to his body, but then you stood up and ran away. You left him to die alone. Why?"

"He told me to do so." Valery confessed. "He knew the police would come to find about the shootings and that _la Migra_ would sent me back to Mexico. He wanted her daughter to have a nice life, I guess."

"_Cabrón."_ Thiago let out and laughed bitterly, "After all he did on his life, right at the end he earns his wings."

"Do you think he's in heaven?" Valery asked as she stood up.

"Well, _mi reina_, I'm sure he's not down on this hell." Thiago mocked.

"Talk to Robbie in the morning before leaving." Valery said as she left the room, leaving Thiago alone with his own demons to exorcise.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

When Daryl saw Robbie was in deep sleep, he decided to leave. After all, he still hadn't found the courage to face the little girl after abandoning her, even if she wasn't aware he did so. But the second he turned around, Robbie opened her eyes.

"Don't leave." She asked with that sweet voice Daryl loved.

"Shit, girl! How do you and your momma do that? It's completely fucked up." Daryl complained as he took a seat next to Robbie's bunk.

The little girl smiled but soon her smile shifted into a grimace of pain. Daryl looked at the messy bandage wrapped around Robbie's shoulder. "Does it hurts?"

"Kind of." Robbie admitted as she shifted around uncomfortably. "But that's not what I want to talk about. Why Val and you fought?"

Daryl was surprised by the question, "How do you know we…? Never mind."

"Daryl she's acting all miserable and depressive. She only does that when you too fight." Robbie pointed out and Daryl smirked.

"Yeah, well. I'm all miserable and depressive too. But it's not that easy to fix." Daryl felt suddenly uncomfortable. A part of him wanted to make emends with Valery and another one to reap her apart. It was all too confusing.

"I know he hurt you and you hurt her too." Robbie saw Daryl grinned and rolled her eyes, "You two are stupid and keep fighting each other off. But you should be fighting together against someone else."

"The Gov." Daryl admitted. That man had been the source of all the problems. And his dead was certainly not a repulsive idea.

"He's evil, Daryl." There was a slight note of panic on Robbie's voice that Daryl caught up immediately.

"Don't worry, lil' one. As long as I am around he won't touch you again, I promise." Daryl smirked and added, "Besides you have a couple of very pissed off Mexicans with guns taking care of you, so you'll be fine."

Robbie smiled and then yawned. Daryl noticed the girl was completely worn out and stood up. "Get some rest kiddo." He ruffled Robbie's hair and turned around.

"Wait Daryl!" Robbie called out and Daryl turned around. "There's something I didn't told my mom." Robbie bit her lip and confessed, "I can't move my arm. I can't even feel it."

Daryl froze, but he recovered quickly and said, "I'm sure it's normal. Now go to sleep."

Robbie nodded and closed her eyes. Daryl then walked out of the cell. He saw Valery standing on the hallway. Daryl was wondering how much of the conversation she had heard, but when she lifted her head and her eyes were glossy and teary, he got his answer.

"It's not normal." She simply said.

"I know." He said back.

And Daryl walked over and pulled her into a hug. She didn't fight it off. Instead, she clenched to his shirt. It lasted only a few seconds and when it was over, Valery walked away without saying anything. But it made Daryl feel there was still hope for them after all.


	28. Falling and Flying

**FanFicGirl10:** Next chapter, insults and resentment are going to be at its max. I also think Daryl screwed up by leaving Valery just like that :/

**Leyshla Gisel:** HAHAHA I really liked that of joining Merle and Herhsel. Maybe they should start a support group or something! LOL

**Jlreck**: Hi, thanks for faving this!

**So this chapter might look like a filler but on the next one I'm planning to write Val/Daryl confrontation, so it will probably be filled with tears and drama all over. Thanks for making this story so popular, I really appreciate the support!**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

They were getting ready to leave when they heard the small steps behind them. Everyone turned around to see Valery holding hands with her daughter and walking towards the group of men. Despite everyone's smiles and greetings Herhsel frowned.

"You should be resting, young lady." Hershel lectured as Valery offered him an apollogetical look.

"I tried to keep her in bed, I really tried." Valery explained as she watched Thiago lifting the girl on his arms and swinging her around. "_Cuidado, Thiago!_ Be gentle with her!" Valery ordered with a worried frown.

Thiago rolled his eyes. "It's okay, _mami."_ then he touched the fabric that was wrapped around Robbie's arm, which was tied around her neck and offered her support. "What's this _nena_?"

Robbie looked up with big sad eyes as she confessed, "My arm doesn't moves."

Thiago exchanged a worried glance towards his sister but he quicly regained his grin and said, "Well, maybe he's sleepy."

That was the moment when Rick joined the group. Valery though he looked tired, but he was finally regaining some of his old personality. The absent look on his eyes was gone and now there was only determination on his gaze. "A word with you two, please." Rick called out the two brothers.

Thiago put down Robbie, who sprinted happily towards Daryl. Then the tatooed boy followed his sister a few steps away from the group. Rick turned around and declared, "I'm aware that you two made some kind of agreement that stated Thiago would leave after making sure Robbie was okay. However, I must ask you to reconsider sticking around for a while longer."

Valery's eyes widened, "What? _Tu estas bromenado, Rick_! He's dangerouns and you know it!"

Rick sighed. He knew this wouldn't be easy. "I know what the risks are. And believe me, I don't want him around my kids anymore than you do, Val. But right know, the Governor outnumbers us. I need every man I can get."

Valery remained silent for a few minutes before finally nodding in agreement. Thiago did the same and Rick continued, "Santiago will join the group that we'll join me to the meeting today."

Thiago smirked, "Keeping your enemies close, huh?"

Rick ignored him and walked away. Valery looked at Thiago and snorted, "Try not to kill everyone."

"I'll do my best."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"How is that shoulder doing?" Daryl asked as he loaded his crowssbow. Robbie was handing him the bolts one by one.

"Okay, I guess." Robbie handed Daryl another bolt and added, "Have you talked to Val?"

Daryl thought about the question. After hugging Valery last night, he hadn't talked with her again. In fact, both of them had been avoiding each other. "Neh, not really."

Robbie gave him a disapproving look. "What? I promise I'll talk to her when I get back."

"What if a walker eats you?" Robbie asked with fear. Daryl just snorted.

"Is not the walkers I'm worried about." Daryl argued. Then he realized how scary that would sound for a ten year old and rephrased. "They don't like hilliby meat, anyway."

Robbie smiled and Daryl smirked. Then he spotted Valery walking their way. "Mom, Daryl says the walkers don't like how he tastes."

"Is that so?" Valery raised and eyebrow and Daryl blushed. "Well, say goodbye _nena,_ they got to go."

"Bye Daryl." Robbie placed a small kiss on Daryl's cheek and rushed away to say goodbye to Rick.

Daryl and Valery were left alone, staring at each other unconfortably. Finally Daryl stood up and said, "Keep and eye on the kiddo."

"I will." Valery replied with a weak smile. "You keep and eye out for Thiago. Don't turn your back to him, not even for a second."

"Don't worry about me, babe." the nickname escaped Daryl's lips accidentally but both pretended not to hear it.

Daryl gave a last look to Valery before climbing on his bike. As the rest of the caravan moved, he watched her figure shrinking on the review mirror.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

After the meeting, Daryl had a strange feeling. It wasn't sadness but it felt very much like it. He knew, just by taking a quick glance at Rick, that things were about to get ugly. A war? Even if he wasn't sure how he felt about turning into a soldier, he was damn sure he didn't wanted Valery nor Robbie in the middle of something like that. As the bike rolled down the road, he thought about Valery.

He missed her. Not only because he loved her but because he was scared as hell. And with her by his side he didn't felt so scared. By the time they reached the prison, he had made up his mind.

Valery took the news of the war with great strength. There was a flinch of pain on her eyes and she hugged Robbie a little tighter, but that was it. After that, the groups dispersed and Daryl walked towards her.

"Can we talk?" Daryl asked. And Valery just nodded, following him outside the building.

The night had stated falling upon them and there was a cold wind blowing. Valery's cinnamon skin immediately was covered by Goosebumps and she rubbed her own shoulders trying to warm up. Daryl took out the smokes he had found on the walker earlier and offered one to Valery. She took it and placed it on her mouth elegantly. As she leaned in to let Daryl light it, he could appreciate how beautiful she was.

Her nose and eyes were small, but they equilibrated with those big black eyes, as mysterious as the night sky. Now that her hair was shorter and of an even color, it felt at the height of her neck like a black curtain. And the dim light of the oil lamp traced the figure of her siluette perfectly.

"What did you want to talk about?" Valery questioned all the sudden, startling Daryl a little.

He took the time to let a light smoke cloud out before speaking, "We need to make this right, Val."

Valery sifted uncomfortably, but she said nothing. Daryl took it as a sign to continue, "I don't know how but we have to. I don't think I could go on living if you or Robbie die on this thing. But I would find it even more difficult to keep living knowing that things end up like this."

"Me neither." Valery interrupted Daryl, who glanced at her. She looked at him with affection. "I mean it Daryl. I want to make this right, too."

Daryl just nodded absently, "Any ideas on how to do so?"

"I guess we should talk things out. Which will probably lead to both of us screaming at each other…" Valery smiled and Daryl joined her. "But we have to. We have to get it all out before we can start over again."

"We can do it. I mean, if Glenn and Maggie did so…"Daryl stopped when he noticed the surprise on Valery's face. "Don't give me that look. The pizza kid had a fucking I-had-sex sign written on his stupid forehead."

This time Valery let out a soft chuckle. "So how do we start?"

"Well, it's late." Daryl pointed out as he took out his cigarette and Valery did the same. "At least we should wait till' the morning. I have the feeling it's going to take a while."

"Okay. Morning then." Valery agreed and then smiled.

And as they both walked inside, Daryl placed his hand into her lower back to guide her.

And she let him.


	29. Just Give Me A Reason

**Sorry if this is a little bit rushed. It just seemed a little unrealistic to have them talk and magically solve everything. So I made them talk out the two main issues for each other and maybe solve everything else as we go on. Also, I couldn't resist the last part. I want their relationship to return to the start point where they were both explosive and just really impulsive about everything. So…yeah, tell me if you like it.**

**Maddy:** thanks! I'm happy you like this

**FanFicGirl10: **I'm planning Thiago to have a super-badass role on the war, if there's one

**Leyshla Gisel:** OMG, sorry I completely forgot your question! Well Robbie is ten, but I kind of picture her like Ray (Dakota Fanning) on Uptown Girls. I feel she's a little grown up anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Thedevilsnightmare**, thanks for faving this. (badass name, by the way)

**Also, this one was completely inspired by Just Give Me A Reason from Pink. You should really consider listening to that awesome song!**

_**Just give me a reason**_

_**Just a little bit's enough**_

_**Just a second we're not broken just bent**_

_**And we can learn to love again**_

_****__**It's in the stars**_

_**It's been written in the scars on our hearts**_

_**That we're not broken just bent**_

_**And we can learn to love again**_**  
**

-OoO-OoO-OOoOO-

It was just plain awkward to be sitting across each other without talking. But neither of them knew where to start. Valery's fingers were drumming on the glass of water in front of her. It was finally Daryl who broke the silence.

"We should set some rules." he suggested and Valery simply nodded. "Like no leaving the room until we are done."

Valery thought for a second and then added, "No bringing other people into the discussion. No Robbie, no Merle, no Thiago. This is our mess and should be just ours."

"Fine." Daryl agreed. The whole situation was uncomfortable. There was a tense atmosphere and both were being way to formal about it. "Anything else?"

"We need to promise not to get physical." Valery said cryptically. Daryl was confused for a second, but then he frowned.

"You really think we could beat each other?" Daryl was horrorized when Valery simply shrugged. "Shit, Val. How did we screw up things so badly?"

Valery chuckled softly, "_Ay, mi cielo_ I'm not sure how can I even start answering that." Valery bit her lip and then suggested, "Maybe we should start by tackling the biggest issues; what hurt the most."

"Okay. You fucking the Governor." Daryl snapped suddenly. Valery had a hurt look on her eyes but he simply said, "We got to start somewhere, don't we?"

"Fine." Valery stated, suddenly feeling under attack. "What do you want to know?"

Daryl thought for a few seconds. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to know. "Just, tell me what you want me to know."

"It was sort of comical. This guy, The Governor, he's just a man. But you see, he doesn't believe that. He has elevated himself as some sort of Messiah. But watching him struggling to take off his shoes, I realized my mom was right. She said_ mi'ja_ you can take the devil and the angel and strip them both of their clothes and of the myth surrounding them. What will be left, it's just the shell of a fragile and scared boy. That's what the Governor is. Just a man."

Daryl felt his throat drying, he wanted to know everything but he wasn't sure he could take it. "Was it good?" It was a stupid question, but Daryl needed to know.

Valery laughed wholeheartedly. "It was rape Daryl. Don't be such a _macho _about it."

"Just..answer the god damned question." Daryl snapped, clenching his fists.

"He's good. I can at least give him that. He knows what to do, where to place his hands. But sex isn't just sex Daryl, at least not the good one." Valery's eyes filled with tears, even if she tried to fight them back. "When I'm with you, is not just my body reacting. My soul ignites on fire. I want you with every fiber of my being. I've never felt so vulnerable and completely safe. "Valery couldn't help it; tears were running down her face freely. Daryl looked extremely uncomfortable and obviously he didn't know how to react. For an instant, he extended his hand as if to place it above Valery's; but at the last minute he coward and pulled back.

"Did he hurt you too much?" Daryl was fighting back his own tears. A part of him wanted to run away or to beat the shit out of something, but instead he remained still. Merle had always said that the only thing Dixon's were good at was taking shit. So Daryl remained still, taking a big ass dump from the Universe.

"He...he..." For the first time since the talk began, Valery's voice broke entirely into sobs. All she wanted was Daryl's arms around her. But he couldn't even touch her. "He tear off my underwear and he...he forced himself into my..back."

There was a loud smashing noise followed by crystalline tears sliding down the wall from the point where Daryl's had thrown the glass and it had collided with the wall. Daryl was shaking with anger; hands clenched into solid fists and eyed shut down. Valery sobbed, unable to find the right words.

"The whole time, I tried to think about saving my daughter. But when it was over..." Valery struggled to finish the sentence but Daryl shook his head.

"Shut up." He muttered, trying to untangle the mess of emotions inside him.

"I thought of you." Valery walked over to the hunter. "I couldn't stop thinking about how ashamed and mad you would be. How grossed out you would be by me…"

"Shut the fuck up!" This time, Daryl's fist slammed on the table. Valery screamed with fear.

But when Daryl looked up at her, it was like if for the first time he could see her. She was terrified, tears rolling down her face and body shaking with sobs. Daryl felt hate. But his anger had switched targets; instead of focusing on Valery he realized the source of all their problems was The Governor. He walked over to Valery and cupped her face with his hands. Valery's tears increased at the so longed contact and she placed her hands over his.

"I swear I'll kill him." Daryl stated firmly, letting the faith on Valery's gaze flood him. "I'll make him pay for what he did to you, what he did to Robbie; what he did to us." And then he swallowed hard and added, "I love you.

"Then why did you leave?" Valery asked with a weak voice, taking Daryl by surprise. "If you loved me, why did you left with Merle."

"Cuz' I couldn't stick around and watch Robbie die." Daryl finally confessed, feeling lighter as he continued, "All my life, I've never cared for anyone the way I do for her. But caring for someone is giving them the power to crush you. I thought that if I went away, I would stop caring. Then I could go back to feel the way I did before meeting you and Robbie. I would feel stronger, fearless…" Daryl smirked. "But going away only made me care more about you two." Daryl blushed lightly as he admitted, "Besides, I still want to rip Rick's throat apart when he touches you."

Valery's eyes widened with surprise, "Are you kidding me?! He's just a friend! In fact, he's your friend too!"

Daryl growled grumpily, "I know but I've always wonder…"

"Okay, let's get this shit sorted out. If I've met him and not you, if Lori hadn't existed and if this was a completely parallel universe, I might had a small crush on him. He's reliable and supports me. But I don't want that. I want you. Are we clear?"

Daryl growled and Valery rolled her eyes. "We don't need your jealously to over complicate things. We have our crazy sociopaths brothers for that."

"I hate Santiago."

"And I hate Merle."

"So what do we do about them?" Daryl asked with slight frustration.

"I guess all we can do is hope they don't kill anyone. I actually think Thiago is as confused about himself as we are. And Merle…well, Rick and Michonne can keep him in line." Valery suggested, not really feeling too optimistic about it.

"Fine. So what about war? Are you ready to die? To see Robbie die? Cuz' I'm not." Daryl admitted.

Valery looked straight into Daryl's eyes. "I'm scared."

"Shit, babe. I'm scared too. I don't want to die in some stupid post apocalyptical war shit. It's bad enough with all those geeks trying to eat us." Daryl tried to lighten the mood and he was rewarded by a soft smile from Valery.

"I was hoping you told me it was going to be okay." Valery admitted. "Were that redneck though man when I need him?"

"Don't know. Same place that sexy badass bitch is. " Daryl replied and this time Valery laughed. "You know what? Let's pretend were not scared. You know, for each other."

Valery nodded in agreement but then her eyes darkened with a familiar shade for Daryl, "I know we're not cool yet and stuff. But if we only have two days to live…"

"Huh?" Daryl encouraged as his thumb traced a circular pattern on Valery's jaw.

"Fuck the no-physical rule." Valery had changed completely. She was now the Valery Daryl met on the woods, the one he knocked out, the brave the fierce…."Make love to me. Now."

And he was happy to oblige.

-OoO-OoO-OOoOO-

**Putting this for a little poll. Should I write the smut or let your imagination wonder? Review and tell me what you prefer.**


	30. Daydreaming

**FanFicGirl10:** there's like a huge line of people waiting to kill the Gov! On the meantime and since you asked really enthusiastically, I give you: SMUT. LOTS OF SMUT

**Maddy:** Hi Maddy! I tried to be accurate on the sex description but as you, I have the same problem: no imagination. But I hope this was enough. Enjoy!

**Leyshla Gisel:** Jeez, all my readers are little smut monsters! But I love writing it out so…haha. Anyway, I kind of enjoyed the Gov's attack. It was sooo sick!

**CeliaSingsSongs:** hi! OMG, I'm glad you like Valery so much. Sometimes I'm writing this stuff out and I laugh too, so don't worry. Thanks for the support!

**And after this week's episode I just HAD to write MERLE. It was so sick. I'm just…Daryl crying?! How the hell am I supposed to survive that! Anyway, I'm not anywhere near ready to begin processing my broken heart over the older Dixon, so in the meantime read, enjoy and review.**

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl wasn't gentle. His lips eagerly attacked Valery's as his hands rested firmly on her hips. Valery let the feelings wash over her like a healing wave. She knew somewhere deep in her mind that this was not the right thing to work things out and that he was still vulnerable from her encounter with the Governor. But there was no fucking way she would die with the Governor being the last man that touched her. So Valery wrapped her hands around Daryl's neck, pulling him closer to her. His hands responded immediately, roaming freely around her body.

Clumsily, Valery took off Daryl's vest not wanting to break the kiss at any moment. Daryl helped her and then started undoing the buttons of his shirt. His fingers were too eager and he kept struggling so he was forced to break the kiss.

"Fuck." He muttered as he worked off his shirt.

"Hurry." Was all Valery could say as she recovered and tried to regain her breath. When Daryl finished, he tossed his shirt to the floor and turned around to face Valery. Her hair was a mess and her cheek where blushing furiously. But her eyes were dark and determined. "Are you sure…?"

For all response, Valery took off her tank top. Daryl wasted no time and attacked her breast with his lips, placing gentle kisses. Valery threw her head back, enjoying the feeling. She needed this, needed him; and she wasn't shy about it. With her free hand, she started undoing Daryl's jeans as she used the other one to press his head to her chest. Daryl understood the message and slides down his pants and Valery's.

He took a break from Valery's body to take a step back. "My God, you're so beautiful." He said on whisper and Valery laughed.

"You ain't bad yourself." She winked at him and he grinned. But the grin changed to something else as he grabbed her legs and lifted her weight to make her sit on the table behind them. Valery attacked Daryl with a passionate kiss. She bit his bottom lip hard and he growled in response.

Without wasting any time, Daryl removed her panties and slide down his boxers. Valery tried to kiss him again, but Daryl grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to stare at him. Without breaking the eye contact, he entered her. Valery gasped with pleasure and eagerly pushed her hips forwards, wrapping her legs around Daryl's waist.

Daryl started thrusting into her, never breaking the eye contact. He enjoyed the small gasp and cries of pleasures she let out as he speeded up the rhythm. It felt so good to be inside her at last. Valery pulled Daryl closer and kissed his neck. In response, Daryl's hands dug into the skin on her back. Daryl was thrusting in so hard that the table moved a few inches each time his hips and Valery's pushed into each other's.

Valery felt herself letting go completely. She didn't care about what happened next. At that exact moment, she felt alive. Her toes curled and she let out a scream as she climaxed. Daryl felt her coming and he trusted inside her one last time before letting go himself too. He clenched to Valery's body holding her tight as his orgasm came.

They stayed that way, simply hugging each other for a while. Daryl ran his fingers through Valery's hair. "I love you Val. Even if it's not what you need, I love you."

"Love you too." Valery could barely say, because the tears on her eyes were threatening to spill.

"Good. But I ain't ready for this to be over." Daryl said mischievously s he stepped back. "Fucking chinaman gets laid all the time."

Valery snorted as she pulled back a strand of hair that had felt on her face. "I didn't knew this was a competition."

"Well it is." Daryl declared with a satisfied smile. "And we have to work a lot if we want to be even with farmer girl and the chink."

Valery chuckled but her chuckles ended with a sharp gasp as Daryl kneeled. Looking up, he spread her legs and pulled her closer to his face. Valery's fingers curled on Daryl's hair when his tongue licked her sensitive spot. Closing her eyes, Valery turned off her brain and surrendered to Daryl's mercy.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Where's Val?" Robbie asked shyly to the men playing cards.

Thiago and Merle exchanged an amused and embarrassed look. They both had heard (actually pretty much everyone on the prison had) Valery's repeated screams of pleasure. Thiago bit his lip as he pointed the cards. " I don't know, nena. Wanna play while she's busy?"

"Mom says we shouldn't play against you because you count the cards." Robbie pointed out.

"Son of a bitch. I knew it!" Merle barked as he slammed his knife-hand on the table. "You taco-makers are all the same."

"What happened to your hand?" Robbie asked curiously approaching to Merle.

"I cut it off." Merle simply responded, not used to interact with kids.

Roberta's eyes widened as she asked, "Why would you do that?"

"_Por pendejo."_ Thiago interrupted with agrin , making Robbie smile.

Merle shook his head, "What did you call me, asshole? You people live in this country, you speak English goddamn it!"

"Why?" Robbie insisted, feeling a little bit more relaxed.

"Err…I..well, officer friendly aka Rick handcuff me to a roof. Walkers were trying to get me, so I did what I had to do." Merle explaining, still eyeing Thiago with resent.

"Did it hurt?" Robbie asked. She seemed to be considering something inside her mind.

"Like a bitch." Merle admitted. The single memory of the pain brought chills to his body. "But I guess I was in shock or something. Caught an infection later, though. It almost killed me."

"Maybe if we're lucky it will come back and finish the job." Thiago suggested as he piled up the cards.

"Would you cut mine off?" Robbie suddenly asked, making Merle's eyes widen.

"And why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because it's broken. And I don't want to be dragging around an arm that doesn't works." Robbie explained like if it was the most natural thing in the world. She carefully unwrapped the bandage on her arm and placed it next to Merle's prosthesis. "And that thing looks really cool."

Merle grinned. He like the little girl. Instead of weeping around because her arms wasn't functioning, she wanted to cut it off and move on. She was a Dixon. Kind of.

"But girl, no boy is gonna ever love you with a fucking knife stuck on your arm. And you do have a very pretty arm, you know?" Merle smiled sincerely. "One of the best I've seen."

"I know, I know." Robbie replied grumpily as she placed her arm back on the bandage. "Up." She extended her hands ready to be lifted. Merle blinked a couple times but finally he agreed and lifted the girl and sat her on his knees. "Let's teach my uncle a lesson."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

When Daryl and Valery came back into the room, they froze at the image in front of them.

"_Carajo!" _ Santiago yelled as he dropped his cards. "Give me another shot, c'mon on."

"As long as I have this punk on my team, you're going to lose every fucking time." Merle challenged as he took the cards Thiago gave him.

"What the hell it's going on?" Daryl asked with confusion. It made him kind of worry to see Robbie sitting on the legs of his brother but Merle looked up cheerfully and smiled.

"Thiago is losing. Again." Robbie explained as she frowned in deep concentration. "Did you and Valery made up?"

Valery growled as she took a seat next to Thiago. "You do know you can call me mom, right?"

"I know, Val." Robbie said and Valery sighed with frustration.

"You're going down, _perdedora_." Thiago threatened. Valery took one look at his cards and grinned.

"He's bluffing."

"What the hell Val, which side are you?!" Santiago yelled at his sister.

Valery just laughed. Then her eyes crossed with Daryl's. He was looking at his new dysfunctional family thinking it was all too good to be truth. But watching Valery smiling, he allowed himself to belief it was true.


	31. Doubts

**I did it! I reached the season finale! This is by far my most successful and long story and I'm not quite sure what would happen when we get to the season finale. (Which will happen on the next chapter) But I wanted to thank all who has ever read this!**

**Leyshla Gisel**: I miss Merle. He was such a badass! Hopefully we find someone to fill the void he left sniff…sniff…*sobs a little*

**FanFicGirl10:** Robbie is a little badass, so I though she deserved a little bit more of attention on this one. I hope you like it.

**Seriously girls, let's make a Merle fan reunion or something **

**Also thanks to: **

**Carolinefdq **(my name is also Caroline!)

**Julietta17** (thanks for reading both of my TWD stories, I know the OC's are completely different but I'm glad you like them.)

**Luxembourgsbucktoothedgirl** (hi, cool name!)

**IF WE REACH THE 100 REVIEWS, I´M THROWING A PARTY FOR YOU, LITTLE WALKERS.**

-oOo-ooOOoo-

It felt awkward to walk next to Carl. Robbie felt like he wasn't even the same person she had met a year ago. Lately he spent most of his time alone and the gun on his hand seemed to be glued to his body. Honestly, it made Robbie a little bit scared. But she had liked Carl once and she guessed there was still a part of him that could be rescued.

"I kind of envy you." Robbie confessed. Carl turned around to look at her and Robbie was sure he had forgotten she was there at all. "The adults treat you like a grown up. You even have your own gun…" Robbie pointed at the weapon resting on Carl's hand.

"You had your own too. Daryl gave it to you." Carl pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can't use it, remember?" Robbie lifted her hand with a resigned look. "How am I supposed to protect my family or even myself if I can't move my hand?!"

"Don't do that." Carl stated firmly. "Don't cry." Robbie looked away, to hide the tears on her eyes. "If you want them to treat you like and adult, act like one."

There was a moment of tense silence as both kids walked on the perimeter of the prison. "It's not so great." Carl broke the silence. "I wished we could go back to just be kids, you know? But we can't, not with all this happening."

Robbie nodded slowly. She knew what Carl meant. Valery had never been too mature but Loreen had always taken care of both. She cooked, she cleaned, and she listened to their problems. And know Valery and Robbie had to deal with their own shit.

It sucked.

Instinctively, Carl wrapped an arm around Robbie's body. Robbie felt a blush creeping to her face and prayed for Carl not to notice. But Carl was too embarrassed himself to take notice. Robbie gathered the courage to look up to Carl and he gave her a small smile.

"_Carl has pretty eyes."_ Robbie thought. _"I've never noticed."_

Both kids were too lost on their thoughts to realize they had approached dangerously to the outside fence. The walker, sensing their proximity, had started gathering around them and following as they walked. Finally, one of them managed to slip its fingers through the openings of the fence and pulled Carl closer to his rotten mouth.

"Carl!" Robbie cried out, but Carl reacted quickly.

He pushed the younger girl away, making her loose her balance and fall. Then he pressed the gun to the fence and fired, sending a splash of blood and dead flesh into his face and clothes. When he recovered, the first thing he did was to check on Robbie. "Are you okay?" then his eyes widened with surprise, "Rob, look!"

Robbie looked down at her body. She had fallen on her but and scrapped both of her hands when she used them to slow down the impact. Most important, he previously useless arm had reacted, bending and helping to avoid the fall.

Robbie looked at Carl. He was smiling.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Has anyone seen Daryl?" Valery asked with frustration. She was acting like a complete over attached girlfriend and it was Daryl's fault for disappearing just like that. "Or Merle? Or Thiago?"

Beth and Michonne both shook their heads. Valery dramatically collapsed into a chair. Having either of that men disappearing was enough to make her worry, but the three of them? She was having a meltdown.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one. Soon they heard voices and Carol came into the room the group used as a kitchen, crying out hysterically, "Maggie it's a matter of hygene!"

Carol ignored the rest of the girls as she walked to the small stove and began heating water. Maggie came in right behind her wearing a shameless smile, "It's a human need, Carol."

Michonne, Beth and Valery exchanged a confused look.

"I don't see why Glenn and you can't satisfy your human needs privately!" Carol complained and Maggie chuckled.

"You caught them having sex?" Beth asked with an amused smile. "Again?"

"Yes! I thought my eyes were going to set themselves on fire when I entered the room and saw them right on that table…"Carol began complaining.

Valery and Michonne immediately jumped off their seats and as far away as the table as possible. "_Que puto asco!_ Maggie, we eat there!" Valery cried out.

Maggie simply rolled her eyes, "Yeah well, how about yesterday when we caught you going down on Daryl inside the watch tower?"

Valery remembered the face of Daryl turning bright red when Glenn and Maggie entered the tower. The best part was that Valery had never stopped, causing the hunter to struggle to explain the situation without moaning loudly.

"Girls! Both of you!" Carol reprehended them with a visible smile playing on her lips.

Michonne raised her arms in defeat, "This room is too filled with estrogens. I'm going to take a walk." And with that, she walked away.

"It's not fair! Why is everyone getting laid but me?!" Beth cried out and Valery chuckled. "Not funny, Valery! I'm stuck in the cell between you and your hunter and this two love birds…and I'm not deaf you know!"

"You can always have Carl, Beth." Maggie offered a pathetical comfort and Beth rolled her eyes.

"I feel bad for you and Carol, really. You can borrow Daryl if you like." Valery offered with a big smile. "But I warn you, he likes to bite."

"Yiiiuuuuk! No, thanks, I rather die alone." Beth complained and Valery chuckled. "My only comfort is that you're probably running low on condoms." Beth finished the sentence and then gave a triumphant smile to her sister, who looked completely heartbroken.

"She's right, Val. We should join forces and split the ones we have left." Maggie suggested.

Suddenly, Valery felt very uncomfortable with the whole conversation. She wished she had followed Michonne's example and left when she had the chance. "Yeah well…Daryl and me don't use any so…"

There was a small gasp of surprise.

"Are you trying to repopulate the Earth with latino redneck babies? Is that it?" Beth asked with concern and Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Valery. I don't mean to sound like the mom of the group but…" Carol took a seat next to Valery, "If you have unprotected sex, you'll get pregnant and die."

Valery snorted, "Jeez, thanks Carol!" then she sighed, "I can't get pregnant, anyway. Having a kid when you're fifteen kind of messes you up. So…"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Carol squeezed Valery's arm and the rest of the girls offered her sympathy looks.

"Not a big deal. I have Robbie and I love her. Besides, I don't think Daryl is too into kids." Valery waved off the problem and soon the conversation flowed back into daily live issues. But Valery couldn't shake the thought off her head. Why had Daryl never asked about that? He never complained about the lack of protection ( he enjoyed it, in fact). But had he never wondered…?

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Hey asshole, I need to talk to you." Daryl called out as he started preparing the bike.

Santiago said nothing as he walked towards Daryl. "Going somewhere?" he asked when he saw Daryl's things on his bike. "Don't you think about leaving my sister again, _puto!"_

Daryl was startled for a few seconds but then he recovered and kept packing. "I'm not leaving anyone. But Merle lost his fucking mind and now Michonne is missing and I need to get their asses back here."

"And what do I have to do with all that?" Thiago scratched the back of his neck.

"I want you to make a promise to me." Daryl said and Santiago snorted. "Yeah, I know your word doesn't counts for shit, but I need this."

"Okay, fire away." Thiago encouraged him.

"If things get difficult around here, I want you to take Valery and Robbie and get the fuck out of the prison. Hit the road, head to the coast. I don't care, just keep them safe." Daryl talked quickly as he mounted the motorcycle.

Thiago was slightly confused. "I thought you had promised Rick you'd help him."

"And I will. But not if it cost their lives." Daryl simply stated as the bike came to life with a loud growl.

Thiago grinned and offered his hand to shake, "Consider it done, _cuñadito."_

Daryl ignored the extended hand and drove away from the prison.


	32. Not So Happy Ending

**IMPORTANT NOTE: SEASON OVER GUYS! And as we find something to fill the emotional void the show left, we need to make a decision. Would you like me to mess around with the story and provide a plot of my own while the show comes back or would you prefer to wait. I'LL STICK TO THE RESULTS OF THE VOTING, SO PLEASE VOTE.**

**Also, I thought of giving the season finale a nice happy fluffy ending….then I decided not to. Why? Because it's boring and life has no happy endings, it just keeps going if you know what I mean**.

**JenksGirl** and **KnottyKnitter **: hi, thanks for reading

**Leyshla Gisel :**He needs Spanish lessons desperately! Of course, I volunteer to teach him I kind of wish I wrote that scene too, now that you mention it!

**FanFicGirl10****:** I'm glad Robbie is back up again! Yei! And I'm planning something huge for Thiago but I need to see if it fits the results of the voting

-OoO-OoO-

Valery said nothing when she saw Daryl entering the building. She pretended not to care and continued preparing the bottle for Judith. Daryl didn't walk over to Valery immediately, instead he went with Rick and discussed something Valery couldn't hear. Valery kept on her acting, handling Beth the fresh bottle and watching as she fed the little baby on her arms. There was a strange tensing on the room. The only ones talking were Rick and Daryl. The rest of the group silently observed Valery's actions, waiting for the moment when she blew up.

She had almost lost it this morning when Rick informed her Daryl had left the prison as so did Merle.

"_What do you mean he's gone? Gone where?"Valery demanded with a tone that was almost hysterical._

_Rick simply shrugged, "He went looking for Merle."_

"_And you let him?!" Valery accused, making Rick frown. _

"_Yeah, Valery, he's a grown man who can make his own damn choices!" Rick barked, startling Valery. The young woman glared at him with anger but said nothing more._

Valery had been holding her breath until she saw Daryl's bike appearing on the entrance. He was alone and there were no signs of Merle, but Valery didn't give a damn about the older Dixon right now. She had been going crazy the entire morning, paranoid about Daryl leaving her again for Merle. Inside, the possibility of him abandoning her deeply hurt her but she didn't let that show. She continued her chores normally until Carl had announced Daryl's arrival. Just in time, since they were already packing up the stuff in preparation for the Governor's eminent attack.

Daryl finished his talk with Rick, who placed a hand on the shoulder of the hunter. Then Daryl tried to walk pass Valery and go to his cell but she decided she had enough.

"Where were you?" she tried her voice to sound as neutral as possible but she didn't succeeded.

"Out." Daryl started walking away but Valery gripped his arm.

"Out, Daryl? That's not good enough. You didn't even tell me you were goin…" Valery started but Daryl shook of her grip violently.

"Fuck off Valery, I'm warning you." Daryl muttered.

Valery was shock by Daryl's rudeness. Immediately, the fire inside her ignited. "You fuck off, _pendejo_! I was trying to be nice about this and shit. I worry about you and all I get from you is this _mierda_?"

"Shut up!" Daryl suddenly grabbed Valery's jaw with a single hand, applying a painful amount of pressure. Valery cried out as she tried to get free. Santiago immediately stood up with his fist clenched, ready to jump to the fight. But Daryl simply pulled Valery close to his face. "Shut up." He repeated, this time with a low threatening tone and an empty look on his eyes. Then he pushed Valery away, making her stumble.

Daryl ignored the shocked looks from everyone and retired to his cell.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery felt like if she was watching the events of a very good action movie. There was a huge blast of fire and concrete when the Governor blew up the surveillance tower. Lots of confused dead people stumbling around too. _"Special effects, good. Make up on the zombies, not so good."_ She though. Then there was nothing. The Governor entered the prison and disappeared from Valery's view. But she could imagine his surprised face when he came into the building and found it abandoned.

The idea might have made her smile some other day, but she wasn't feeling so cheery today.

Merle was dead. Rick had explained the situation to Valery, perhaps in a poor attempt to justify Daryl's behavior. But not even Daryl was at peace with his actions. Valery knew he felt guilty because he had glanced at the purple mark on her jaw and then quickly looked away. They hadn't talked as they drove to the ends of the woods where they had set a back up defense in case things didn't turned okay with Maggie and Glenn.

The waiting had proven to be frustrating and tense. Finally Valery turned around, just to find Daryl standing right behind her. He looked weaker now. There was no trace from the crazy coldness he had on his eyes that morning. Still Valery felt all her defense alarms activating.

There was a moment of tense silence before Valery said, "I'm sorry. For Merle." It sounded so stupid that she regretted saying so, but there was a faint shadow of hurt that crossed Daryl's eyes at the mention of his brother.

"And I'm sorry for that." Daryl trailed the outline of the bruise on Valery's face with the tip of his fingers before cupping her face.

"Not the first time you give me one." Valery recalled the night they met and Daryl frowned. He didn't liked to be remembered of the mistakes he had done on the past.

"I'm sorry about that too." Daryl apologized and Valery sighed.

"I know. Just don't give me a third one or I will kick your ass." Valery threatened and Daryl smiled.

In that moment, the exchange of apologies was interrupted by the sound of shooting. The group turned around to see Glenn and Maggie emptying their guns on the Governor so called soldiers. Valery grinned as she saw the people running away of the prison "_Yippee ki_-_yay_, _motherfucker!_" Valery thought.

-OoOo-OoO-

"Carl…" Robbie called out with a small voice, hiding behind Hershel.

The boy in front of them seemed scared and had a gun on his hands; definitely a bad combo. But apparently he was ready to give up. He walked slowly, ready to give Carl his weapon. And then Carl fired. Twice.

Robbie was frozen in her place, just like Beth and Hershel. But when she finally wrapped her mind around what just happened, she felt utterly shocked by Carl's actions. "Why the hell did you did that for?!" Robbie screamed with a mixture of anger and frustration. She hated dead. But most of all, she hated stupid, pointless dead.

"They attacked us, Robbie! They killed Axel and they almost killed your mom!" Carl shouted back.

Robbie pointed at the corpse of the boy on the floor, "He didn't killed Axel, he didn't try to kill my mom! He was trying to give up!"

"After shooting our people!" Carl's eyes blackened with anger and Robbie felt tears stinging her eyes. Not thinking. She punched Carl's shoulder, hard.

The boy was ready to respond to the attack when Hershel stepped between the fight. He said a few words to calm down Carl, but Robbie noticed how the old man pushed her behind his body, serving as human shield. When she looked up to see Hershel's face she saw something on his face: fear. Hershel was afraid of Carl. Looking down at Carl she wondered if she should be scared too.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"You're not going." Valery declared with her arms crossed against her chest. Rick and Daryl stared at her but she didn't back down.

"Hell I'am!" Daryl argued. He wasn't in the mood for a big long discussion, so he simply turned around and climbed into the bike.

"No, you're not!" Valery walked over and placed her body in front of the motorcycle. Rick opened his mouth but Valery guessed what would his argument be and she added, "If you need men you can take Thiago."

"Fine, then we'll both go. Me and your psycho brother." Daryl rolled his eyes with irritation, trying to start the bike. Valery quickly pressed the brakes, killing the engine on the spot. "Get your hands off my bike."

"Daryl, I don't want you to go back to Woodbury." Valery pleaded, trying to find something to convince Daryl to stay. "The last time we went there, you almost got killed, Robbie got shot and I..I was hurt. Please, don't go back."

Daryl could see that the concern on Valery's eyes was sincere. But he couldn't just let go of the pain he felt after Merle's dead. He looked away from Valery's pleading eyes and focused on the road ahead, "Move!" Daryl ordered, yanking away the motorcycle from her hands and starting the engine.

He felt bad when he saw the image of Valery on the review mirror. But he was confident he soul fix things up when this was over.

"_If it is ever over…"_ the disturbing thought kept floating on his mind.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Trouble in paradise?" Santiago walked out of the shadows and Valery could just sigh. _"He's like a freaking ninja."_

"Stay out of it." Valery cut him, but he simply chuckled.

"C'mon on, if you can't trust family, who can't you trust?" Santiago mocked as he leaned in the wall.

"You wouldn't understand." Valery felt her defenses cracking. She felt worn out by the fights, the war, the walkers…

"Try me." Santiago said with a serious look,_ "Soy todo oidos" _he encouraged her sister to speak.

"I'm wondering if we might be beyond repair." Valery confessed, feeling like if a gigantic weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"It's never too late for leaving, you know?" Santiago offered.

"I was afraid you'd suggest that." Valery admitted with a sad smile. "And am afraid I'm actually tempted to accept."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Daryl was feeling better after paying a visit to Woodbury. It was weird to have been received by a bunch of old people and mothers with little kids instead of the though warriors he hoped to find. Still, it was nice when Rick invited them over. Despite that meant more people to look after, Daryl was glad to see that the last trace of craziness on Rick had vanished. He was now back to be that guy who Daryl would follow unconditionally.

During their time out, Daryl had also reflexed on his argument with Valery. Maybe with the heat of the moment, they had both acted a little bit irrationally. Hopefully, he could change that now. He hoped they could have a rational conversation and…

"Val!" he was surprised to find her waiting on his cell. She was wearing her hair up on a high ponytail and a white tank top that gave Daryl a nice view of her breasts. He repressed the urge to grin.

"Daryl…." Valery spoke slowly and clear, like one would speak to a child. "We need to talk."

-OoO-OoO-

**CLIFFHANGER! I know, you hate me! Hehe but I'm a little monster. So guys if anyone out there wants to write a TWD story but is scared of what people would say or not getting it right, I encourage you to do it. My first stories kind of sucked but each one got better than the previous one. If you need advice, I'll be right here!**

**PS: remember to VOTE!**


	33. This is Just Getting Started

**IM SO GLAD YOU WANTED TO CONTINUE THE STORY! I HAD SO MANY IDEAS INSIDE ME, I FELT I WAS GOING TO EXPLODE. So what can you expect? More drama and love tangling messes. But don't worry, I'm also going to get walkers in at some point with a big plot. Thank you to everyone who reviewed:**

**FanFicGirl10:** don't worry love! Valery is definitely not one of the victim girls who let their man step all over them. She's going to make Daryl clean up his act!

**Leyshla Gisel:** thanks, I'm going to add so much drama to them. I mean, they can take them, right?

**CreepyDaisy:** as you wish!

**Maddy120296:** Yeah I felt like I over-did that and now I'm trying to make Daryl behave better. Sorry about that.

**Zaii:** I love having new readers! It's really interesting to hear their thoughts after you been able to develop the story a bit more. I'm glad you are liking this!

**AND THANKS FOR FOLLOWING**: **heboosh**, ** .Devil**, **Mo1869**

**Sydsyd**, **Emma0707 **(Gracias por tus comentarios, espero verte por aqui ;) )

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Beth wasn't sure what to say but she felt really stupid just standing there so she cleared her throat and shyly said, "Hey."

Santiago jumped up and turned around holding a crawl bar as if to hit Beth. When she saw that it was indeed just Beth, he relaxed and lowered the weapon. _"Ay Jesus!"_ he placed a hand on his chest, "You scared me girl!"

Beth blushed and looked down as she apologized, "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

Thiago smiled and kneeled back under the truck. "It's cool _guerita._" Without looking at her, she kept on working and asked, "Why are you here anyway?" Thiago smirked as he added, "I didn't know your father let you out of the building."

"He doesn't know I'm here." Beth explained, feeling strangely leased by Santiago's snort of amusement. She played with the ends of her braid as she walked to the truck. It had once being used to transport prisoners but know it laid abandoned and covered in dirt. No one else seemed too interest on it, and that why Beth was surprised when she saw Thiago sneak out of the prison with a bunch of tools. "Are you fixing it?"

Thiago lay on the floor and slide his body under the vehicle. "I'm trying; this damn thing is a bitch." Thiago looked up slowly; taking an extra time to enjoy the nice view of Beth long's legs. She noticed his staring and blushed bright red but he didn't dissimulate his interest.

"Why are you fixing it?" Beth tried to make a joke by adding "Going somewhere?"

Thiago smiled and closed his eyes lightly to protect them from the sunlight hitting his face. "You never know, _guerita_." Beth seemed mildly concerned. She wondered if there was anything wrong with what Santiago was doing and whether or not she should let Rick know.

But despite the horrible things everyone said about him, he seemed pretty harmless; even friendly. Beth decided she would keep a close eye on him and wait until she had any proofs.

"Do you want to help?" Santiago suddenly asked. He wasn't sure what he thought of the girl, but if she was going to stay around, she could make herself useful.

"I..I don't know anything about cars." Beth confessed, slightly embarrassed.

Thiago grinned, "It's okay. Just sit over there, hand me shit when I ask for it and look pretty." He took one last appreciative look at her before disappearing under the truck. "You already got one thing nailed, so focus on the other two."

Beth tried hard not to smile as she sat on the concrete next to the truck.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"How did she say it?" Glenn asked and both Rick and Daryl glared at him. The young Asian tried to explained himself, "Women are one percent what they say and ninety nine of how they say it."

"Since when you're Oprah?" Daryl spitted out and Glenn smiled shyly.

"We're trying to help, Daryl." Rick said with his cop voice. "Tell me what did she said, word by word."

Daryl scratched the back of his neck. "She said that if we were going to be together I needed to show her I was committed. And that I needed to work out my anger management issues." Daryl growled and paced around as he babbled, "That's ridiculous! I don't have a fucking anger problem! She just makes me fucking mad, that's it!" Rick and Glenn exchanged a frustration look but Daryl kept talking, "And what does she want me to do?! Get down on one knee?!"

Suddenly Daryl's face paled and he stopped walking. He spinned his body around slowly and looked at his buddies with a terrified look, "Oh my God. What if she wants to get married?"

"Daryl…relax." Rick tried to place one hand on his friend shoulder but Daryl was freaking out completely.

"It's the damn end of the world! Ain't nobody got time for that shit!" Daryl kept babbling things as Rick tried to calm him down. Glenn remained suspiciously silent.

None of them noticed the woman walking towards them. She was one of the Woodbury citizens that had moved into the prison. She was tall and slim and her walking was confident and graceful. Once she reached the group of men, both Rick and Glenn stared down at her. Daryl was still pacing around.

"Can I help you ma'am?" Rick asked. The girl smiled with some pearly white teeth that had once won best smile on the yearbook of her high school.

"I hope so. My name is Rebecca Hall." She offered Rick her hand and he shook it politely. "I wanted to thank you all for taking us in after the way things went down." She moved her head rhythmically as she spoke. Rick deduced by the way she moved and talked that she had been some kind of beauty contestant girl when she was younger.

"No problem, miss Hall." Rick assured her. Glenn found out his tongue was tangled up, so he just nodded and smiled.

Rebecca smiled again, "Call me Rebecca or Becky, please." She looked over Rick's shoulder to see Daryl. "Was he the one who hunt that deer we ate this morning?"

"Daryl hunts everything we eat, miss…" Rick started but then he cut the phrase and corrected himself, "Rebecca."

"In that case…"Rebecca started and approached Daryl who was staring down the floor with his mind filled with Valery's words. Rebecca stood on the yips of her toes and planted a small kiss opn Daryl's cheek. "Thank you."

Rick and Glenn both observed the scene with shock but Daryl remained motionless. He hadn't even registered Becca's actions. Once she walked away Daryl lifted his look and repeated, "What if she wants to get fucking married?"

Rick and Glenn rolled their eyes.

-OoO-ooOoo-OoO-

"Hell no, I don't want to marry Daryl!" Valery busted out laughing when Maggie asked the question. "Can't you imagine Daryl going down in one knee and asking the question?"

Maggie chuckled, "I suppose no."

"I don't need some big love statement or anything like that. I just want him to understand he needs to stop acting like a angry child who throws a fist over a toy or some horny teenager who can't think on anything but sex." Valery sighed. "I need him to shape up and be a man; a responsible man who can be Robbie's father."

"That sounds reasonable." Maggie agreed, "But are you sure he can make it?"

"He'll have to try and behave better if he wants to stay with me." Valery stated firmly. She had taken the decision after watching the purple mark Daryl had made on her skin. If she was capable of behaving like an adult, he was going to have to try too.

Carol came in with some of the older woman on the Woodbury group. "They wanted to help with dinner." Carol explained as she showed the little supplies the prison had. The group of women were peeling and slicing things in no time.

Valery liked the older women that had joined the group. They were always willing to help and Valery couldn't help to compare them with her _abuela_. The younger girls were a different deal. The ones that had children often used them as an excuse not to participate in any other task of the prison. Valery could only roll her eyes. She had a kid too and she made time to contribute as well. And some of them had picked up the strange habit of whispering behind Valery's back. Those last girls also hanged around wherever Daryl was and Valery found that extremely annoying.

Just then, a young tall girl with brunette hair came in and sat at the edge of the table, taking some celery and chopping it off. Carol leaned in and whispered into Valery's ear, "She's the president of the Daryl's fan club."

Valery grinned and the girl looked up as if she had heard the words. She gave Valery a small smile which she didn't returned. The next onion Valery chopped was nearly smashed by the force she used on the knife.

No she didn't liked Rebecca Hall. Not one bit.


	34. Dinner from Hell

**Hey guys! I don't know how I feel about this one but it had been a while since I updated **** Also, don't worry I'm writing some action/smut on the next one, so keep on reading. I took a few of your ideas to put them here, I hope you like it!**

**FanFicGirl10:** I'M PLANNING SOMETHING HUGE FOR Thiago-Beth next chapter! And yeah, she's an actress. And strangely, I do like the actress. She's not as pretentious as my Rebecca anyway, LOL!

**Leyshla Gisel:** I liked your idea so much I couldn't resist writing it out! And somehow it ended up being a whole smutty chapter I'm posting next week

**Zaii:** I'm glad you liked it! I can't picture Daryl walking down the aile anytime soon. And I kind of lied on the last chapter: I AM THE PRESIDENT OF DARYL'S FAN CLUB haha

**Maddy120296**: Relax sweetie I don't think Daryl is aware of the bitch fighting revolving around him. He's kind of cute trying to deal with so much unwanted attention, though hehe

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

" I swear to God if she touches him one more time!" Valery screamed as she joined Rick on the watch tower. Now that the Governor had destroyed the other one, the group had been forced to make every shift in pairs. It was stressful for everyone having to adapt to their new visitors. Except for the ones who were very young or old, the rest of them (mostly women) were proven to be completely useful. Most of the times Carol, Beth, Maggie and Valery preferred to do the chores by themselves than having to put up with the _"new girls_" attitude. Of course, the extra load of work was affecting them.

Rick didn't say anything as Valery paced around the small space. Finally, he asked, "So, Daryl is back from the hunting?"

Daryl had been also pulling the weight by himself. More people meant more mouths to be fed. The hunter did his best to provide but it was difficult now that he had to avoid the constant Governor's patrolling. Rick knew that he had a couple of dangerous encounters out on the woods but Daryl made him promise not to tell about them to Valery.

"Yeah and I had to find out through the damn _gringa!_" Valery barked out. "She came into the kitchen announcing _our _hunter was back." Valery glared at rick as she muttered, "He's _my_ fucking hunter, Rick."

Rick couldn't help to chuckle. He had never seen Valery so upset over Daryl. He tried to calm her down by saying, "Relax, I don't think Daryl is interested. Yesterday he practically sprinted away when he saw her coming." Valery had stopped pacing and now was standing next to Rick with a worried expression. Rick pulled her into a one-arm hug. "He wouldn't cheat on you, Val. Ever."

"He better not. Or I'll rip his head away." Valery threatened as she let her head rest into Rick's shoulder. She liked Rick. Valery always felt like he was the best friend she had ever had. "What do you think I should do?"

Rick sighed. "Look, I'm not Cosmo or anything but you got to stop this demanding housewife attitude…"

"I'm not…" Valery started but rick cut her.

"Go back to who you were when he first met you. Be the person he felt in love with." Soon, Rick's voice cracked, "That's what I tried to do on my last days with Lori."

"Oh Rick…" Valery turned around and hugged Rick tightly. He returned the embrace and they remained like that for a few moments until Valery said, "But being sexy is so damn exhausting." Rick busted out laughing and Valery punched his shoulder. "Don't laugh_, idiota_! Those Barbies don't know how to do shit, so we have to do everything for them. I have barely seen my family on the last week."

"Well, Robbie is spending a lot of time with Carl. Mostly they fight all the time, but I think is good for Carl to be around someone less…" Rick struggled to find the right words, "…dark."

"Yeah well. It's not Robbie I'm worried about…" Valery said cryptically.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"So you're into country boys…" Thiago snorted and Beth pushed him playfully. They were both sitting on one of the concrete tables on the yard of the prison.

"No!"

"Come on, farmer's daughter, living on a farm, fell in love with a cowboy…that's a country song right there." Thiago joked and Beth chuckled.T hiago jumped off his seat and pretended to dance a little country. He did it terribly and Beth laughed.

"What about you, though guy? Is there a heart behind the tattoos?" Beth realized she teased Thiago constantly. She didn't meant to do it, but it always made her felt good.

Thiago made an offended face as he placed his hand on his chest, "Damn girl, don't mess with the ink." Then he seemed to get a little more serious. "Never been the one to fall in love. But yeah…" he looked away and Beth realized he had hit a nerve, "…I could tell you a story about the one that got away."

There was an awkward silence and Beth tried to relax the atmosphere. "C'mon , aren't you supposed to be working on that?" Beth pointed at the truck behind them. Thiago shook his head sadly.

"Neh, I'm missing a few parts to make it work. But Mr. Law will never let me go into town to search for them." Thiago grinned and Beth felt like she was melting, even though the day was rather cloudy.

Suddenly, before her brain had a chance to catch up with her tongue, she said, "Maybe I could go with you."

Thiago raised his eyebrows with surprise. Beth looked away shyly and blushed, "We could sneak out and come back without anyone noticing. I can't let you go alone, though. I need to make sure you won't go to the Governor or something like that…"

Thiago had walked slowly until he stood right in front of him. With one hand he gently pushed Beth's knees open to position himself right between her legs. Beth felt her face warming up as he cupped her face with his other hand. "And if I misbehave? What makes you think you can get me back in line?"

Beth felt his warm breath on her lips and she couldn't resist pressing her center against his waist. He grinned and leaned in and…when Beth opened her eyes, she saw him smiling. "Let's go farmer's daughter, let's have dinner." Beth was a little disappointed but when Thiago offered his hand, she took it.

-O OoO-OoO-OoO-

It was the most awkward dinner ever. The atmosphere was already extremely tense when Thiago and Beth came to sit on the table. Valery noticed their hands were strangely close, like if they had been holding hands or something like that. But her mind was distracted by the constant attempts of Becca to get Daryl's attention.

"Tell me Daryl, are you a mini skirt or a shorts man?" Becca said on a loud voice so everyone could hear. When Daryl, who sat next to Valery, almost chocked on the bread he was chewing, Rebecca laughed, "I'm just saying, I was named best legs on my town. Also best smile, personality and hair."

"Too bad walkers don't care about stupid ribbons." Valery snapped, making Rebecca's smile vanish. "But hey, maybe you can win most tasty." The comment earned a small smile from Maggie and Carol.

"The food is good." Karen said diplomatically to Rick, who smiled.

"Oh yeah. They don't care about green cards either, so I guess you're lucky." Becca's words were filled with venom. "Besides, beauty contest aren't all so bad. At least you are able to hold a trophy…too bad you don't know the feeling."

"Hey, pass me the potatoes…" Thiago discretely asked for the bowl, but since no one was paying attention, he leaned in from behind Beth to reach them. When he was going back to his place, he took the opportunity to place a kiss behind the girl's earlobe, who got red as a tomato.

Valery smiled. "I have all I need…" Valery's hand sneaked from below the table up to Daryl's groin, who stiffened immediately. "…right here."

"Rick, I was thinking me and some of the older women could start a small garden with eatable products on the small yard behind the prison…"Karen tried to start the conversation.

"Yeah, let's go grow flowers. Maybe we can make the Governor a bouquet…" Carl rolled his eyes.

"Hey, don't be rude!" Rick lectured.

"How about a bouquet for the boy you killed?" Robbie argued back and Carl glared at her with anger.

"I did what I had to." The boy stated firmly and Robbie growled.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Robbie said before pushing her plate away.

Menawhile Daryl was shaking so bad he practically spilled all the sup on his spoon before it could reach his mouth. Valeru's hand had been working on a circular motion around his sensitive parts and he was responding quite fast. Still, daryl couldn't decide whether he was more scared, embarrassed or turn on. He made up his mind about that when Valery gave him a soft squeeze and he had to dig his fingers into the table to repress a moan.

"I'm not hungry either." Valery pushed her plate away and the gracefully stood up. Before walking away, he leaned next to Daryl's ear and whispered on a low seductive voice "Don't take too long."

Rick tried hard not to smile when Daryl ran out of the room with a very evident reason to leave under his pants. Meanwhile both Carl and Robbie stormed out of the room, not talking to each other. Hershel eyed Santiago and Beth suspiciously as they talked at each other with whispers. And well, let's just say Rebecca's face was priceless.


	35. Freedom or Redemption

**First: WE REACHED THE 100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! I know my writing might be inconsistent but I try my best to keep up a good level. Seriously, this is my most loves fic ever. Thank you guys, you rock!**

**Maddy120296:** Not to worry, dear. I'll have Valery give that bitch what she deserves.

**FanFicGirl10:** I think I addressed all the issues you were worried about on a single chapter haha. And I'll sort Carl/Robbie next, don't worry!

**Zaii:** I do hope you like the smut because it is always really awkward to write, so I hope is worth the embarrassment hahaha

**Leyshla Gisel****: **Thanks! I'm literally holding on to life until October comes.

Also welcome** EzziBA**! I got two things I'd like to say.

First, **EzziBA** asked me if there was any chance for a baby in this story. I won't say I haven't thought about it. Sadly, it won't happen. I just don't think I could include it on my plans, sorry. A REDNECK LATINO BABY IS DEFINETELY A GOOD IDEA, THOUGH!

**Also, if you read my first stories, they suck. The only way of improving is to keep writing (AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT) Please don't give up on writing and keep trying to improve. If you ever need advice, I'm all ears!**

Also thanks to** Shmalana for **following this!

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

If Santiago had learned something along his life, it was that plans never came out as planned. People change, timing was messed up and before you knew, you ended up improvising as you go. He had been planning to leave for a while. Specifically, since Merle died. He couldn't help to see his relationship with Daryl reflected on the Dixon brothers. Merle had vanished, just as him. Daryl had struggled at the beginning but he was tough and eventually, he moved on. Then suddenly Merle turns up again and messes up everything Daryl had built on the last months. Santiago felt pity for Merle. He probably had returned thinking things could go back to the way they were before. But people changed. Daryl changed, Valery changed. They didn't need their older siblings anymore. And Thiago knew how Merle must have felt; a burden, a loose end, someone who really didn't belonged anywhere. Santiago felt the same. He could have stayed behind and helped Rick fight the Governor. But he wasn't ashamed to admit that he wasn't as noble as Merle.

He was more of the runaway kind.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"What the hell was…?" Daryl couldn't finish the question because Valery grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him close, smashing their lips together. Daryl had to place his hands on each side o f her hips to steady both of them. Valery's lips moved fast and it wasn't long until he surrendered and opened his mouth to take in her warm taste. It was almost intoxicating. Valery's arms were wrapped around his neck and her hips were pressed against his.

It was easy to be mislead. But Daryl wasn't a person who could be bullshitted easily. It was almost painful, but he managed to gather enough force of will to break the kiss. Valery was obviously disappointed, and she tried to kiss him again but Daryl placed a hand on her cheek to restrain her. "No, you answer to me first girl. What the hell was that show over there?"

Valery lowered her head but Daryl tilted her chin up gently.

"If I ask you something you better give me an answer, Val" Daryl locked his eyes with Valery's and he saw a shade of embarrassment passing through her gaze.

"You didn't like it?" Valery's voice sounded awfully embarrassed. She actually kind of regretted her small display during dinner. All the Miss Confidence shit was okay to fake in front of others but Daryl could always see right through her.

"Didn't say that." Daryl quickly cut out her insecurities. His instincts were almost 100% reliable and he smelled something fishy on Valery's attitude. "But I'm not just some toy you can pick up whenever you're bored."

"Ay, si! But you have no problem letting that bitch play around with you!" Valery muttered.

"What was that?" Daryl asked with surprise.

"You know what I'm talking about, Daryl!" Valery was frustrated. It was extremely difficult to be in a relationship in which both sides sucked at communication. "Rebecca Hall? The fucking whore that practically spread her legs for you!"

Daryl was completely taken aback by Valery's attack. Sure, Rebecca was a little bit more kind to him that how she was to the others. And hadn't she insinuated something about a massage once? But there was no way. No-fucking-way. Two hot girls (Rebecca was hot, Daryl wasn't blind) were fighting over him?! This was every teenage boy wet dream (well, add in some bikinis and mud fight to the mix). A small smile began shaping on Daryl's lips but it vanished when he saw the pained expression on Valery's face.

"Jeez, you're really insecure aren't you?" Daryl pointed out and Valery looked away. Daryl remembered the incident with Carol and suddenly it was clear to him. "Behind all that sexy hot mess, you're just a scared girl, aren't you?"

His voice was soft and caring and his hand slide to cup her cheek. Valery lifted her head and tried not to blush when she confessed, "I never had many good things on my life Daryl. You, Leon and Robbie are the best thing ever happened to me. I'm scared to dead to lose you."

Daryl was more moved by the statement that what he showed. He was struggling to keep down the knot forming on his throat, so he chuckled to hide his emotion. "Neh, you're stuck with me for a long time."

Valery smiled weakly and Daryl pulled her into a kiss. He was gentle, trying to convey how much he cared. But soon, he grew a little bit impatient. Smirking, he whispered into her lips, "Now, if you could give me a small push on the right direction…"

The devilish spark on Valery's eyes assured Daryl she understood what he meant.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"How far are we?" Beth asked.

Her voice startled Thiago, reminding him he wasn't alone on the truck. He wasn't quite sure how that part of the plan had gone wrong. When Beth insisted to come along, he agreed. Now that she was in the truck, he needed a plan to get rid of her. Well, she could keep the truck, right? The old piece of scrap metal moved to a decent speed and as long as she didn't pushed the accelerator too much, she should be okay. In fact, he was going to be a gentleman and finish up repairing the truck for her (he wasn't laying when he said he needed some pieces to finish up the fixing)

"Not far, I promise." He added up a smile and she seemed to relax a bit. Why the hell he had agreed to bring her? Maybe he didn't wanted to disappoint her, not yet.

Not yet.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Clothes had been disposed incredibly fast. Now Valery was standing on her underwear and Daryl wore nothing but his jeans. Both found this state of semi-nakedness incredibly hot. Daryl wrapped his arms around Valery's waist and hugged her body tightly. One of Daryl's hands tugged Valery's hair down, forcing her to lift her head and allowing Daryl to have his way with her neck. She let out a moan off pleasure, digging her nails into his scalp.

Daryl wasn't holding back. He kissed, sucked and bitted all along her neck until he reached her breasts. Once she felt his head going further down she decided to stop him. Forcefully, she pushed his body away.

"C'mon!" she practically gasped, pointing at the bunk.

He stumbled towards it and once he reached its edge, Valery pushed him into his back. Then she climbed up, straddling his body. Daryl gave her a mischievous smirk and Valery chuckled before lowering her head to continue with the kissing. Slowly, she began moving down, taking special care to place kiss on every inch of bare skin from his neck to his waist line. Once she reached the fabric of his jeans, Valery looked up. Daryl was in complete surrender and it pleased her to know that.

She undid his jeans, never breaking the eye contact. Once she released him from the fabric cover, she was able to see his excitement in full disposal.

Daryl quirked and eyebrow as he asked, "Like what you see?"

"I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks." She responded and before he understood her words fully, Valery was already sucking on him. She took his full length at once, making him gasp.

"Oh Jesus!" he exclaimed as Valery moved her mouth in and out, making small circles with her tongue at his tip. He ran his fingers through her hair roughly.

He felt like maybe he was getting way too excited, so before he ruined everything he pulled her head back. She got the message and quickly disposed her panties. Valery placed herself right on top of him and smiled. Daryl returned the smile just in time before she lowered herself into him. She gave her half a second to enjoy the feeling of her tight warm inside before she started riding him at a fast pace.

"Get this off my fucking way!" Daryl muttered as he yanked the bra away, liberating her breast. Watching her from the bottom, seeing her breast move with the rhythm of her body and feeling her as against his balls almost made him explode. But he wanted the feeling to last longer. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, which allowed his head to level with her breast.

He bit her nipple and she let out a hiss of pain and pleasure. Then he gently sucked it as his hand massaged her other breast. He then changed places and Valery felt herself getting closer to the climax. She speed up her pace and Daryl let out a moan when he feel her tightening around her.

They locked eyes and there was a complicity smirk between them. _"¡Ay Dios mío!"_ Valery cried out as she came and Daryl followed her, burring his head into her chest.

They remained like that for a few minutes, just feeling each other closely. Daryl found the warmness of Valery's body strangely comforting. He listen to the sound of her heart beating as she caressed his head like she would do to a child. And for the time it lasted, that right there was the safest place on Earth.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

The town was filled with walkers. Most of them were on an advanced state of decomposition. Luckily, that slowed them down considerably. When they heard the roar of the truck coming down the road, their heads lifted up to find the source of the sound. Beth shuffled on her place nervously but Thiago kept his pulse steady and parked right outside the mechanic shop _**(AN: I have no idea how you call a place where you buy shit to fix a car)**__._ He gave one last look at Beth.

She was petrified. One of her hand had her nails dug deep into the leather that covered the car seat. Her eyes alternated between thiago and the dozen of walkers slowly approaching the truck.

"_Hey, mírame…"_ Thiago cupped Beth's cheek. He smiled, as he tried to sooth her, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't shoot unless you have to. And keep this…" Thiago gave her his digital watch. She gave him a confused look and he explained, "If I don't come back in ten minutes, get the fuck out of here…"

Beth doubted, but finally she nodded. Thiago smiled, "Good girl."

He thought of giving her a goodbye kiss. But if he did, she would probably insist on waiting for him longer than what they agreed, not knowing he wasn't planning to come back.

He jumped out of the truck and smashed the door a little louder than what he intended to because the innocent voice of Beth took him by surprise, "Be safe." She had whispered.

Santiago glanced quickly at the surroundings before heading to the shop. There were about a dozen walkers moving towards the truck but sure Beth could manage. He on the other side, had nothing to protect himself. Luckily, someone had already smashed the front door's glass. All he had to do was slide his hand in (trying to ignore the dried blood on the glass) and turn the knob around.

There was a click and the door opened. Thiago entered the shop and realized things would be easier than what he expected. It was a small place, with supplies lined up in aisles and a small counter. Behind the counter, splashed with blood, was a door that Thiago hoped was some kind of exit. He jumped to the other side of the counter and kicked the door. It was made of steel, so it didn't gave in with the first kick. Thiago was about to kick it again when he felt something gripping his support feet.

He panicked until he looked down and saw a jawless walker trying to grab him. The poor asshole who owned the shop had blew (or someone had) his jaw away. Thiago snorted and he kept kicking the door.

It finally gave in; at the same time he heard a shot being fired outside. He froze for a second before convincing himself Beth would be smart enough to leave him behind if things got difficult. The door led to a storage room, but on the back of it there was a window large enough to fit through it. Santiago headed straight to it, kicking the head of the walker on the floor (and freeing his soul on the process). He was looking for something to smash the glass of the window when he heard the second shot. Trying to ignore the voice in his head begging him to turn around, he got desperate and wrapped his hand with his shirt. He smashed the window glass using his elbow, a trick he had learned down on his street days.

He was about to slide his body trough the opening when he heard the scream. The voice, high pitched with fear, was Beth's for sure. She had left the truck for some reason. "Help! Help me please!"

"_Mierda!"_ Thiago hissed. He looked through the window. It faced a small alley and at the end of it, there was the main road. He felt the breeze of fresh air that came through the opening and the road that extended to freedom.

"Help me!" Beth's voice was a cry for help.

Thigo's heart was pulling him into opposite directions.

His way out. Beth. Easy. Difficult. Freedom. Redemption.

Why the fuck did plans never worked out the way we design them?!"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

If Daryl hadn't say anything, things would have remained perfect. But he did said something and what he said was, "Thank God you were just jealous. For a second, I thought you want me to propose."

"What?!" Valery gave Daryl a surprised look before chuckling. She was lying naked next to him with her head resting on his chest. "_No inventes…"_ Valery was still chuckling and Daryl smirked.

"I know, right?" he agreed.

"…me marrying you? How ridiculous!" Valery kept chuckling and she didn't notice the way Daryl's body stiffened.

Something about the way she said it brought a sting of pain to his chest. "And what the fuck would be wrong about marrying me?"

Valery stopped laughing and stared up at him. "You aren't serious, are you?"

"Of course I'm fuckin…" Daryl had begun muttering when Rick entered the cell. He took a glimpse of what was inside and immediately stumbled back as both Daryl and Val covered up themselves.

"Are you decent?" Rick asked cautiously before stepping back inside. He was blushing lightly when he stepped inside. "If you're done doing…well, doing that. We might have some problems. Thiago and Beth are missing."

Valery let out a frustrated growl. She knew her brother and she suspected that he was probably inside some empty cell making the framer's daughter feel a little bit closer to heaven. She just hoped he actually asked her for her consent before doing…her.

But Rick looked worried and the deep frown on his face was explained when he added, "Carl and Robbie are missing, too."


	36. Plot Thickens

**Hi guys is been a while since I sat down and write something I really like :/ But it's been hard lately. In fact as I'm writing this I'm also breaking up with my boyfriend (via DM, because we're two fucking cowards) so, I'm on a bittersweet moment of my life. Anyway, thanks for everyone who is still there. I miss WD soooo bad and I can't wait for season 4.**

**FanFicGirl10****:** I don't know how I got to this point where my plots have plots, ughhh. I'll try to make it close up nice and smooth, I promise.

**Maddy120296**** :** Thanks for taking a minute to Review. And Valery , as every girl on the universe, wants to marry Daryl deep inside her. But she's too much of a badass to show it.

**Leyshla Gisel****:** thanks? Haha I keep breaking people out of the prison, which seems totally chaotic but had a purpose.

**zaii****:** I'm totally #TeamLetsHaveAWedding so don't worry

And shoutout to all the new readers: **Cookiedow**, **ElectroGirl444**, **The Wind Whispers To Me** (your name is awesome) and **eastcoastgirl325**

I'd like to know what you think of my OC and the story

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOooOO-

Three of the walkers in town had approached the vehicle as soon as they parked. It had taken their rotten feet almost six minutes to reach the truck and now they were trying to get inside slamming their hands into the windows. Beth tried not to look into their empty eyes and focus on the black digits on the watch. Thiago said he would take ten minutes no more but almost twelve minutes had gone by without any sign he would come back. Beth knew the logic thing would be to ditch him and go back to the prison but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

The walkers outside didn't seem to care much about her dilemma as they kept slamming the truck. Beth had no idea how long the glass would hold up and she had no intention of finding it out. A whole dozen of walkers had started moving towards the parked vehicle, attacked by the noise their peers produced. Beth hesitated but finally she changed places to the driver's seat and started the engine. The truck came to life with a low growl and Beth took of the manual brake. When she did that, her hand touched something cold on the floor of the truck. She examined the object and her eyes widened. She looked through the window, with her heart beating fast now that she realized Thiago was in the store with no protection at all.

"_Leave him. "_ a voice inside her head screamed. But as Beth held the gun Thiago had left behind, a plan started shaping inside her mind_. "Leave him. Turn around and go. He can take care of himself."_

But Beth was determined to save Thiago. She took a deep breath before unlocking both of the front doors. Then, before any of the eager walkers could reach her, she moved up to the back seat and as the geeks got into the vehicle, she discretely left through one of the back doors. But she hadn't notice a second group of walkers was heading to the vehicle from the behind until she was face to face with one of the hungry creatures. She fired the gun instinctively, blowing up the head of the poor creature that never knew what hit him. But the sound of the gunshot attracted some unwanted attention and suddenly Beth found herself surrounded by a group of starving looks.

"Help! Help me please!" Beth cried out, trying to step back as far away from the walkers surrounding her. She was quickly trapped between the crowd of dead and the side of the truck. She painted as she pointed the gun, not sure what objective to hit first. One of the walkers, a young woman dressed on a sleeping gown that had once being a soft shade of pink and know was covered with blood and mud, make the first attempt to grab Beth. Beth fired the gun, hitting the middle of her head and sending her body back. "Help me!" Beth's voice was a cry for help.

"Santiago!" Beth cried out desperately as the circle of predators closed up around her. She fired a third time but this time her target was too close and she missed the shot. Beth screamed with terror when she felt a hand grabbing her shoulder. She turned around quickly, but she was relieved to find a pair of familiar eyes looking at her through the open window.

"_Venga,_ c'om in!" Santiago ordered as he pulled in Beth by her shoulders. Beth curved her back, allowing Santiago to pull her body inside the truck through the tight window frame. There were a couple of walkers on the front seat but Beth could do nothing but close her eyes and kick everything she could hit as Thiago's strong arms slipped her body through the back seats. Once he was out of the metal trap the truck had turned into, Thiago stood in front of her and stared at her with a harsh cold look. "You bit?"

Beth simply shook her head and Thiago doubted but he finally grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front of the vehicle. There were fewer walkers in that area but still one or two made a move to reach for them. Thiago quickly yanked away the antenna of the truck and stick it into a walker's skull through its eye. Beth shrugged as she followed Thiago inside the store. Thiago jumped over the counter and then helped Beth to do the same.

They reached the back window in less than a couple seconds but once there Beth froze in her place. "Did you smash this window?"

Santiago was too busy sliding through the window to make up an excuse so he just told the truth, "Yes, now c'om on!" he turned around and offered Beth his arms to help her out of the window but she didn't move.

"You were going to leave me behind." Beth slowly realized.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOooOO-

Rebacca smiled to herself. Things couldn't have gone better, even if she had planned them. She was now thankful she had decided to spy over the backyard to where Beth and Thiago spend and awful quantity of time together. Of course, she had done so out of pure boredom and thoughtfully disguised her espionage with the excuse of giving them some refreshment and sandwich slices Carol had made for the kids. Rebecca had discovered she found a morbid pleasure digging into the prison's gossip. But she had hit the jackpot this morning when she caught Beth and Thiago sneaking out of the prison. Rebecca heard Thiago saying something about scavenging on the nearest town for motor pieces.

Rebecca waited for them to leave before returning to the building. Her first idea was to alert Valery and Rick about the fugitives. In that way that wetback bitch would own her and start treating her better. But when Rebecca passed by Valery's cell she found out that much to her displeasure, Valery and Daryl were engaged into some "business" she had no intention of interrupting. She walked away, trying to erase the screams and moans of pleasure from her mind. After that, Rebecca had sat on the hallway for an hour trying to come up with a plan as she bit the sandwiches Carol had made.

She heard some steps coming down the hallway and discovered Roberta's curious face. "Sorry, Have you seen my mom?"

Rebecca shook her head. She considered telling Robbie her mom was down her cell to ruin their fun and potentially scar her daughter psychosocially at the same time but then a brilliant idea crossed her mind. "Robbie, I'm in some trouble and I think you can help me out."

Robbie tilted her head to one side. "Huh?"

"I just saw your uncle kidnapping Beth and driving away from the prison." Rebecca tried to fake a knot on her throat. "I don't know what to do!"

Instead of panicking, Robbie frowned, "Have you told Rick?"

"No, I mean. He already hates your uncle and he's just waiting for a chance to kick him out. I thought of going after him and give him the chance to explain his actions." Rebecca even managed to create a tear and make it slide down her face on the exact moment she desired. Those acting classes were really paying off.

"Then why are you still here?" Robbie was terribly confused.

"I'm so scared! What if I catch him and he kills me!" Rebecca sobbed and Robbie's expression softened.

"We should really tell my mom." Robbie bit her lip.

"I tried! But she's nowhere! And every second we stand here means Beth is in danger!" Rebecca explained with slight frustration. Then suddenly she stood up and squeaked in excitement, "I know! You could come with me! In that way, Santiago won't hurt us."

"But…"Robbie was still doubtful and Rebecca repressed a growl.

"I heard him complaining about the engine of the truck, saying he'd had to stop on the nearest town." Rebecca tried to pull Robbie, but she resisted. "There's no time, kid! Beth is counting on us!"

Finally, Robbie nodded and followed Rebecca.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOooOO-

"And just like that you were going to ditch me?" Beth felt the sting of angry tears staining on her eyes.

"Do you seriously want to talk about that now?" Santiago asked with impatience as he tried to pull Beth trough the window.

"Yes! Let go!" Beth tried to snatch Thiago's hands away but he was far too strong for her. He managed to take her out of the building but Beth immediately recovered and slapped him. Hard. Santiago caressed the place on her cheek where Beth's hand had left a red mark.

"Hit me, hate me, do whatever you like…but let's get the fuck out of here!" That was all he say before he went running down the alley that lead to the main road, giving Beth no option but to follow him.

The main road was clear but they could distinguish the stumbling dead bodies making their way to where they stood. Thiago looked around for something they could use to escape and finally spotted a green van carelessly parked to one side of the road. "Bingo." He said as he sprinted to the van. Once there he smashed the driver's window with his elbow (which was kind of sore by now). There was a walker trapped inside, but the belt caught him and all he could do was strench its hands trying to reach for Beth. She quickly shot him, spraying its brains and flesh all over Thiago. Santaigo made a disgusted face but he removed the corpse and slid down to cut the cables that would make the engine start.

"I should have known." Beth said on a low voice as she waited for Thiago to start the vehicle. "No nice guy knows how to start a car with no keys."

The loud roar of the engine hid Thiago's sigh. He jumped into the driver's seat but Beth didn't follow him. Irritated, Thiago snapped, "If I wanted to ditch you, I just missed the perfect opportunity back there. Get your ass on the car_, blanquita_."

Beth rolled her eyes but finally gave up and walked over to the copilot seat. Thiago accelerated and pretty soon the figures of the walkers became just a blurry mass on the review mirror.

The tension inside the cabin became unbearable after just a couple of minutes and Beth couldn't resist, "Why did you came back?"

Santiago's eyes remained fixed on the front, "Maybe I'm not the soulless monster everyone thinks I am."

"Jeez, you were going to leave me to be eaten alive! That's pretty damn monstrous for me!" Beth cried out.

"Okay, first of all you could have driven away, that was your choice." Thiago's knuckles whitened due to the strength he was using to clench to the wheel. "You should never have gotten out of the car."

"I'm sorry, I was trying to save your useless life!" Beth screamed and punched Thiago on the arm with all her strength.

"That's what get's people killed, being too damn good!" Thiago shouted and Beth flinched a little. Then with a soft broken voice Beth had never heard before, he added, "That's what got my wife killed."

Beth didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry."

Santiago parked the van and sighed. He was trying his best to keep the tears at bay as he spoke, "She came home from work and this homeless guy came walking her way. She was giving him some money when the bastard just snapped and bit her hand. A couple days later, she was gone. Along with my kid, which she held inside."

Beth stared at the deserted road ahead of them. She wanted to feel bad for Thiago but she couldn't. All she felt was a mild interest mixed with nostalgia inside her heart. Since this started she had heard too many sad stories; people losing their kids, their wives, their parents…she had developed an immunity to shield her from such an enormous tragedy. And suddenly she realized how cold did that made her seem and felt pity for this new self that the harsh reality had shaped up. And that's how the first tear went down her cheek.

When she turned around to face Thiago and apologize for her own weakness, Beth's face was covered in tears and little sobs escaped her lips whenever she tried to speak. Thiago didn't say anything. Instead he leaned in and sealed his lips against hers.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOooOO-

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Robbie asked with a slightly shivering voice.

Carl heard her and slowed down his pace to remain hidden on the bushes behind Becca.

"Yeah, trust me. I'm just taking a short cut." Rebecca said with boredom as she kept on walking. The truth was that she had intended to follow the road until she realized how much would they had to walk. Then she had chosen to cut through the woods which had been a stupid idea since she had no sense of orientation at all. Finally, she was getting tired of dragging Robbie around and it was starting to get dark.

On the other side Rebecca still hoped somehow they could catch the two fugitives and forced them to return to the prison. She could picture Valery's face of shame and gratefulness when she returned with her stupid ganster brother alive. And in that way maybe Daryl would realize she was the best and obvious choice for him. Rebecca was not even in love with the stupid redneck. It just bothered her how he insisted on resisting to her charms. And Rebecca was so caught up on her thoughts that she didn't noticed Robbie was walking too damn close to the edge of a small cliff.

Rebecca finally turned around when she heard Roberta scream but she only managed to see her little body disappearing as she felt.


	37. Cold nights

**Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay but I wasn't feeling this chapter at all. This was the final result of many previous outlines that were disposed, so I hope you like it. As always. I'm grateful for the feedback and the reviews (still surprised we reached a hundred, seriously) So…I have a question for you. In case I do solve this plot before October I might devote my September to do one-shots with Val-Robbie-Daryl. But I'm not yet sure so….**

Welcome to** hideher** (who follows my stories) and my loyal reviewers:

**FanFicGirl10:** The stories will all tie up in a common point, so much I can promise. And I'm planning something for Becca ha-ha-ha (evil laugh inserted here)

**Maddy120296:** I hate her too -.-

**EzziBA:** sorry :P

**Leyshla Gisel:** at this point of the story my plots have plots. I don't know how to stop it! LOL

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Valery, let's take a rest." Maggie begged. Valery turned around to object but when she noticed the panting and red cheeks of her friend she realized they needed a break. She nodded weakly and Maggie sat on the floor. "C'mon sit your ass down."

Valery smirked, but she obeyed and sat in front of Maggie.

"Are you worried?" Maggie asked, trying to break the awkward silence between them. There was something creepy about the silence in the woods, hearing noting but the distant chanting of a bird or the rustle of the leaves.

Valery let out a sigh, "Where do I start? One can only worry so much until you lose your mind. I've been coming up with terrible scenarios for Robbie, Carl and Beth." Valery then frowned as she added, "As for Thiago, I just hope I'll find him before someone else does."

Maggie had mixed feelings towards Valery's brother. On one side, Maggie was convinced, as well as Hershel, that Thiago had kidnapped Beth. On the other side she knew that Valery did cared about her brother, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. And Rick's orders had been to shoot him on sight.

"At least she's missing too." Maggie pointed out with a wide smile. Valery couldn't help but to smirk. When they had realized Becca was nowhere to be found, Valery felt almost happy until she started considering the idea that maybe Miss Bitchy was behind all the disappearances.

"I heard you and Daryl making emends on his cell. Sound to me like you were jealous with no reason." Maggie said mischievously and Valery chuckled.

"Post-apocalyptic sex is good. But it kind of ruined the mood when Daryl proposed me after having sex…and me turning him down didn't help fixing things." Valery commented like if it wasn't a big deal but Maggie's face was the image of shock.

"He proposed? What? How? Why the fuck did you turned him down?" Maggie's continuous flow of question surprised Valery.

"Well, he insinuated the thing and I kind of laughter on his face…."Valery heard her own words and flinched a little, "_Joder!_ It really sound terrible when I say it out loud" Maggie nodded sympathetically and Valery defended herself, "But a wedding? I mean isn't that the craziest thing with all that's happening?"

"Not at all. I mean, we live our lives not knowing in which moment we're going to die. It doesn't have to be fancy or anything. It's just you two admitting that you love each other and that you want to be with each other for as long as you live." Maggie explained.

"Sound pretty nice when you put it like that." Valery agreed and then let out a small scream when Maggie extracted something out of her pocket and showed to her. "_Dios mio!_ You're getting married? _Felicidades, niña!" _Valery pulled Maggie into a hug and they both giggled and smiled for a few minutes before Maggie pull herself together.

"You can't tell anyone." Maggie warned and Valery motioned as if she would zip her mouth and throw the key away. "Okay, do you want to keep on looking?"

Valery looked up and realized the sky was getting darker. If they continued, they probably would end up getting lost as well. As much as she loved her daughter, she knew they couldn't risk loosing more people, giving the vulnerable position they held. She shook her head and accepted Maggie's help to stand up. Before they left, Valery took one last glance at the forest and it struck her as a terribly scared place to get lost, especially if you were only ten.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Dude, this is some weird ass shit I'm telling you." Daryl muttered as he to a close look at the dirt on his hands.

"Okay, what do we know?" Rick tried to get his serious cop face on but he clearly didn't understood what was going on inside _Daryl The Tracker's_ mind.

"There's two sets of trails. One belonging to an adult woman and one to a female child. Both walk together until a certain point but then I find the adult woman tuned around and start losing her shit and walking in circles for some reason. And there's a third set of small prints that ran along the bushes, like if you would stalk or spy on someone." Daryl recited, earning an admiring look from Rick. It still surprised the hunter how much were his abilities treasured now.

"We should follow the female prints, find out where did they splinted." Rick suggested and Daryl shook his head.

"However turned around stepped all over them, messed them up." Daryl lamented. Then he looked up and noticed some early stars had started showing up. "We better go back before there's no light."

"Yeah I didn't feel too good about letting Karen and Glenn holding down the fort. Maybe Michonne and Carol found them. Or Maggie and Val." There was a fait note of hope on Rick's voice that made Daryl reconsider letting his friend know this was probably the best lead anyone could come up with.

Instead he gave a supportive pat on Rick's shoulder as they walked back. "Don't worry man, those kids are though as nails."

"Yeah. I know." Rick agreed. They walked in silence but it soon became obvious that was only feeding the tension, so Rick decide to make some small talk. "What's up with the awkward goodbye between Val and you?"

Daryl blushed when he realized Rick was referring to the almost-kiss. Valery had said her goodbyes and then had leaned in for a kiss but at the last minute, she recoiled and gave him a shy wave.

"I'm guessing is because I propose her." Daryl stated, noticing how Rick's body tensed. "The bitch said no, anyway. So just let it go."

"Seriously? She declined?" Rick sounded sincerely sorry when he added, "I'm sorry Daryl."

"Yeah well." Daryl spitted and then picked up the pace. He wasn't in the mood for some bonding emotional shit, so he was relieved when Rick decided to abandon the subject. It was almost pitch dark when they spotted the prison. Daryl suddenly felt the need to turn around and tear out every fucking tree until he found Robbie and then drag that kid back to the prison.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked, noticing how Daryl dragged his feet.

"I just realized I'm going to have to break the news to Val." Daryl run his fingers through his hair, "She's going to flip when we come in empty handed.

"Shit." Rick exclaimed.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-

"Careful!" Robbie recommended as she tried to look up. She couldn't see Carl but he could hear the shift of rocks above her head and some loose dirt felt on her hair. They had been trying to come up with a better plan for hours until Carl was finally sick of all the talking and planning and decided to go down even if Robbie opposed.

"Almost there." Carl reassured. Actually, there had been a couple times where he almost loose his grip and felt down, but he had managed to recover just in time. Finally he reached the bottom, and he was able to take a look at the body of Robbie.

The little girl was completely stuck under the log on sitting position against the rock wall. Above her head, the rock Rebecca had threw in was as stuck as Robbie herself. Carl's face paled and Robbie tried to smirk. "Not good, huh?"

"How do you feel?" Carl ignored Robbie's question.

"My ankle is swore and either a big termite nest crashed on it or it is going numb." Robbie joked but Carl didn't smiled. Instead he took a seat next to her.

"Try to get some sleep." Carl recommended and Robbie decided it was better not to protest. When she closed her eyes, she never though she would drift off so quickly. She didn't even notice her fingers curling against Carl's hand.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-


	38. Could this be possible?

**I have to confess I had to force myself to write this one out. I was getting bored with this story and I honestly thought about abandoning it. And then I said why the hell not and added a surprise twist to Valery I think you're going to enjoy. It is my last attempt to bring some new life to this story, so I really hope you like it. Next chapter we have a collision of storylines, characters and feelings.**

Thanks a lot to the new readers **bubble-star**, **makemeill**, **ObjectiveObserverFromAfar** and to my fatheful reviwers:

**FanFicGirl10**: I think Robbie-Carl relationship is sweet and I'm planning to bring them back next chapter :3

**Leyshla Gisel:** Ugh, don't even make me go there. I had a BETA and after the first chapter she corrected she stopped replying to my PMs. Same happened with the second one that offered her help. If you know of someone, I'll be happy to contact them. J

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

It hadn't been romantic at all. It was not like in the movies, where clothes come off easily and sex always end up in orgasms. The back seat of the car was filled with a scent of humidity and the space was far too small. Luckily it was one of those cars in which you can take the back seats off and Thiago spend a good ten minutes trying to figure out how to do that as Beth observed him and bit her thumb nervously. Their bodies struggled to find a comfortable position and get rid of the clothes as fast as possible. They only kissed once, on the front seat just after they escaped the infested town. After that the hunger and lust did the rest. Thiago sucked into the skin on Beth's neck and tugged her nipples gently as she whimpered. Beth felt like a rag doll, too filled with desire to think about what was happening. She dogged her fingers into Santiago's nape when he entered her with a loud growl. Beth felt him filling her and let out a cry of pleasure. When he thrusted inside her, she felt every nerve on her body igniting and her nails scratched his back. Thiago kept going, enjoying her tightness. But then he make the mistake of looking into her eyes.

She had the same eyes as Loreen; the same blue color, the same innocence, the same devotion inside them.

After he realized that, he couldn't keep going. He tried and gave a couple more weak thrust inside her, but finally he collapsed on top of her. Thiago didn't realize he was sobbing until he felt the soft hands caressing his face. He cried into his sleep and the next morning he woke up with his hands firmly wrapped around Beth's waist.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery had trouble sleeping. When Daryl came back, he didn't have to say anything. Valery could read the disappointment on his features. She didn't said anything either. Instead, she wrapped her hands around his waist and buried her face on his chest. Later, when they moved back to his cell, they slept into the same position. Daryl noticed the way Val's hands clenches to his shirt, like if she was afraid he would fade away if she let go.

When the first light of the morning filtered through the window, Valery woke up. She took a deep breath, inhaling as much of Daryl's strong, sweaty and rough essence before carefully unwrapping her body from his arms and standing up. Daryl woke up the moment he felt her moving, but he pretended to be asleep as Valery sneaked out of the bedroom. During the last days, he felt like she was drifting away and he couldn't do anything to stop her. He hoped things would sort out once they found Robbie.

When Valery headed to the guard tower, the last person she thought she would find there was Carol. But the older woman was there and she greeted Valery with a kind smile and silent sympathy, both of which she much needed. Carol took out a small object out of her pocket. It wasn't until Valery heard the lighter snapping that she turned around.

Valery accepted the smoke Carol offered and gave it a deep hit. When she released the heavy cloud of smoke, she finally felt ready to speak. "I'm so tired of this shit."

"You need to be more specific." Carol pointed out and Valery smirked.

"No. I mean it in general. I'm so fucking tired of this life." Valery looked down to the grass below them. It still exhibited a couple of dark spots where the bodies had fallen and been dragged away. "I might as well jump."

"What's keeping you then?" Carol questioned, leaning on the railing. Valery didn't reply. "Me?" Valery let out a sigh and Carol chuckled. "No, I won't stop you. I'll tell Daryl I'll throw you over myself."

Valery chuckled and then turned her back on the railing. "It's just fucked up. First I had my daughter, then I lose her, then I gain her back just to lose her again. I don't even feel sad or anything. I'm just tired of this shit."

"And don't you think we all feel like that?" Carol voice wasn't judgmental. In fact, she sounded a bit amused. "I can't tell you how many times Rick has wanted to throw the towel. And I've seen that look on Daryl's eyes when he comes back from a hunting trip empty handed. It sucks and then it gets better and then it sucks again and it just keeps going like that."

"That's all?" Valery asked with a grin. "That's your super Miyagy advice?"

"That's life, sweetheart. Get used to it." Carol replied and Valery realized she liked Carol. She liked her a lot. Both women heard the sound of footsteps and looked down. Rick and the rest of the group were gathered down there, ready for another day of search. Valery appreciated the effort they were doing, she really did. They had accepted her like one of her own and she knew Robbie's lost hurt them as much as it did to her.

Valery spotted Daryl getting his crossbow ready right next to Rick. The fact that they hadn't found anything seemed not to affect him at all. And suddenly Val thought she was really lucky to be next to a guy like him.

_"No seas llorona!_" Valery mentally scolded herself when she felt happy tears stinging on her eyes. "What the hell is happening to me?" she thought as she turn off her cigarette.

"Hey girls! We thought we should start early today! We're dividing into two groups and heading out." Rick yelled, shielding his eyes from the morning sun.

"Cool. I'll be right down in a sec." Valery shouted back. The rest of the group started heading to the outside gate, Daryl being the last one. "Hey, Daryl!" Valery shouted, making Daryl turn around and attracting some curious looks. "I have a good feeling about today. I think we're going to find them!"

Daryl gave her a _are-you-fucking-insane_ look before barking, "Get your ass down here, V. You're stuck with us today."

Valery laughed, heading to the stairs. "Good talk." She simply said to Carol before disappearing into the stairs. As she went down, she tried to sort out what just happened. That morning she had waken up feeling all depressed and five minutes later she was determined to go there and drag her daughter's ass out of the forest. That was a serous mood flip and Val knew it had little to do with the pep talk Carol gave her. So what was it? She had never PMS before. In fact this month she hadn't even….

She froze at the bottom of the tower.

_"No, no es posible."_ Valery tried to convince herself as she placed a hand on her tummy. She knew even if **_THAT _**happened it was waaaaaayyyy too early for her to be feeling anything. But she still pressed her palm against her abs, trying to distinguish any bumps out of the normal. "Stop it, _loca_. You're imagining shit."

So she shook the ideas out of her head and hurried up to join the group. But she decided when they found the kids, she was going to drag Daryl back to the cell and make him fuck her until any funny thoughts disappeared

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Morning sex had been better. This time Thiago made sure he was fucking Beth and not some weird post traumatic ghost of his dead wife. It was less creepy ad far more pleasant. He was even rewarded by a full orgams from Beth and he lasted right through the end. It was after all, human nature to move on.

"This feels good." Beth declared a couple hours later, as her head lied on Thiago's shoulder.

"Then don't talk." Thiago mocked. But deep down he agreed. Driving back to the prison with a beautiful girl on his side….yeah, it was good. He felt Beth's body shifting positions and he almost growled in protest. He didn't want anything or anyone to ruin the moment.

But Beth was a girl. And she just had to ask the god damned question that had been eating her brain for the last twenty four hours.

"Was that a onetime thing?" Beth asked straight, thought immediately she added, "Because if it is, it's totally cool. I just want to make sure I know where I stand."

"Beth, you're a good girl. Good girls don't do one time things." Thiago pointed out, earning himself an elbow connecting with his ribcage. "Which is totally cool because I plan to do that more times. I plan to do you many times. On many places. On different positions. With multiple…"

"I get it! I get it!" Beth cut him off. And she tried to hide the ridiculously goofy smile on her face. Thiago tugged her head with his free hand and pulled her closer as he kept driving.

"Thought I'm pretty sure your daddy will shoot me on sight." Santiago pointed out but Beth was too happy to care.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Becca was so exhausted that by the time she reached Woodbury she was practically dragging her feet.

"Stop!" the guys on the blockade yelled and Becca did as they said even though she was so weak she could barely raise her limbs. "On your knees!" Becca kneeled, and soon she was registered and carried inside by the men.

Their hands were clenched pretty hard around her arms and she wanted to point out none of them had the courtesy to offer her something to drink. They simply carried her to the Governor´s office and tossed her inside. The office was well illuminated and it had this strange aura of normality; like the world wasn't ending outside those four walls. Becca took a seat on a chair and rested her head on the desk, waiting for someone to come and get her. During the time she lived in Woodbury, she had never been there. Actually she never cared much about The Gov or the way he ran things. What the hell did it mattered? He kept them safe and that's all Becca wanted. He could kill whoever he liked.

By the time The Governor came into the office, Becca had fallen asleep. The sound of someone dragging a chair startled her. She quickly tried her best to arrange her hair, which was covered in mud and leaves after running all night. She also arranged her blouse, taking note of the quick glance the Gov gave her generous cleavage. "_Finally, I met a reasonable man."_ Rebecca thought.

"I thought you might be thirsty." The Governor offered a bottle of water and smiled when he spotted the sparkle on Rebecca's eyes as she lay eyes on the bottle. He took a seat and watched her drink down the liquid. Once she finished, she set down the bottle on the desk and whipped off her mouth with the back of her hand. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we? My guards tell me you came down here walking all by yourself. You were mumbling things about a prison and a little girl and other stuff…" Rebecca was silent. She didn't even remembered saying anything but she was probably to tired to be any coherent. "Now, you need to understand in times like this, this behavior is suspicious." The Governor let out a short barked laugh, "For all I know, you could be a spy."

"I'm not a…" Becca quickly argued but the Governor raised a hand to stop her.

"But there's no way for me to know that, right?" The Governor kept smiling but his voice was nothing but threatening when he added, "Now give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right here."

Rebecca understood she was only as valuable as the information she held. So she told the whole story right from the beginning. She mentioned how Karen came back and how they were adopted in the prison. When the Governor gave Rebecca a notebook and a pen to draw a blueprint of the prison, she made sure to point out every weak spot. Then she told the Governor about the little girl and how she had "suffered an unfortunate accident" back on the woods. The Governor's eyes illuminated when Becca mentioned Valery. Becca noticed that and she make sure to mention the little girl was probably still alive.

"Okay, that's enough." The Governor interrupted Becca just when she was about to describe how terrible had the lad month been for her. She was clearly offended by his lack of concern but she remained silent. "Listen, I believe you and I don't think you're a spy. But you did abandoned us and I can't just let you walk back just like that." Becca's face paled, but the Governor continued. "Tell you what, go back to the woods and bring the little girl to me. Then I'll let you stay."

"But…."Rebecca looked like she was about to cry and the Governor had to repress the urge to slap her idiotic face. "I…I just came back…I can't go back...I…I can't."

"I'll make sure you are given enough food and water for the trip. You can also take a gun with you though I doubt you know how to use it." The Governor was quickly losing his patience, so Becca decided it was best not to push her luck.

"Why is this damn brat so fucking important to everyone?!" Rebecca blurted out, feeling the tears staining her eyes.

The Governor chuckled. "I don't give a damn about the kid. But I'll sure wouldn't mind to see her mother again." And subconsciously his hands traveled up to his crotch. Rebecca stood up and headed to the door, frustrated and angered. She know hated Valery and her daughter more than she ever though she could hate anyone. When she opened the door, she heard the Governor speak. "Oh, and do me a favor. Don't come back here empty handed. My men are capable of being quite brutal and they don't mind sharing."

Rebecca turned around slowly, "Sharing what…?" but the realization hit her half through her question and she left the office in a hurry, hearing the echo of the Governor's cruel laught after she left.


	39. Girls and their Damn Hormones

**I got such strong opinions on the pregnancy deal! But don't worry. As I said before I do have a master plan for this story and as for the possible baby, it might not be what you think it is. But I guess in this way I can get Valery to confront her feelings for Daryl without the usual crap. Uggh, anyway….WE GET TO SEE BECCA PAYING OFF ON NEXT CHAPTER AND IT'S PRETTY COOL. I THINK.**

** I'm also participation on a modeling contest, so I might ask you to vote for me soon and I hope that's okay. I need all the help I can get L**

**I loved the reviews on last chapter, you made me put things on perspective and thanks to you I have new interest on the story!**

**FanFicGirl10:** I agree. But I think Valery's practical nature might be making her a little bit cold, so I wanted to level that up. I'd try to make Becca's fall as humiliating and ridiculous as possible.

**Zaii:** I'll keep you suspense on the baby idea for a while. Because I'm a cruel, cruel human being.

**LorieDixonne:** First of all, thanks for giving this fic a chance. It's been evolving progressively and I think it has improved a lot as I wrote it. Second, I do appreciate you taking the time to analyze the pregnancy idea. I actually had to adjust some stuff I'd planned thanks to your point outs. I think, however, I've managed to get my sh*t together haha. Finally this will end up making sense, don't worry.

**Maddy120296:** haha, I don't like her either! But the conversation made much more sense if I wrote it with Carol instead of Rick, who was my first choice.

**Tigerlily xoxo:** I agree. Thiago is a twisted and sick guy. But he's super fun to write, especially on this chapter, so hope you like it. And we all want a baby kick ass hunter buuuut you'll just have to wait to see how that turns out. And I love my Inheart story even though it's not popular. Thanks for checking it out, really :,)

**Leyshla Gisel:** This people write themselves out, I swear. I might had loosen my creative control over them haha. Glad you like this.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOO-

**LAST NIGHT **

There were no starts that night. Not a single bright dot on the sky to give them some comfort. Even the moon was covered by a heavy group of clouds, giving its glow a phantasmagorical essence. Roberta had grown up listening to the fantastic tales that the Granma had told Thiago and Valery when they were younger. She had heard about woman killing their own kids and then screaming their names through the streets of the Colonial city. She had heard the tale of a woman so beautiful many men had died trying to court her and how she had ended her course by burying her face on a pile of burning coal. But none of those stories had scared Robbie, not even a little.

This was not a story. This was real….and she was scared.

Carl and she had decided to take turns sleeping. It made much sense to try to get as much rest as possible to be on full alert the next day. However, Robbie found it impossible to close her eyes. Every time she started drifting off, she thought she heard a rustle of leaves or a moaning voice calling her name. She knew it was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her, but she couldn't help to wake up alarmed even after Carl reassured her there was nothing haunting them. So Robbie pretended to sleep when it was her turn to rest and while she was on watch, she clenched to Carl's gun.

Now Carl had fallen asleep on her shoulder and Robbie tried her best to stay still and not wake him up. Carl had been trying really hard to keep calm during the whole situation. When the night felt upon them, he convinced Robbie the best they could do was get some rest and come up with a plan on the morning. Robbie had to agree but she was determined to convince him to go search for help with the first sunlight. Robbie had been thinking about it all through the day and finally she concluded only her show was trapped beneath the three and that they would only need to lift it a little in order for her to pull out. It had been a strike of luck that the tree had stopped just before rushing her legs. Still, the tingling sensation and lack of circulation were extremely uncomfortable. Robbie bit her lip as she tried to move her trapped feet a little without waking up Carl.

But she froze when she heard something moving on the bushes. She waited a few minutes, just to check if it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. But the sound was real and it was very close to them. Finally, Robbie decided it was best to wake up Carl. She shook his body lightly while whispering, "Carl, Carl wake up. Carl, I think there's something on the bushes…"

Carl lifted his head and blinked a couple times as his brain caught up with the events of the day. It took him a few minutes to understand what was happening and then he listened closely for a sign of danger. Robbie knew she wasn't imagining things when Carl's eyes widened. "Hush!" he ordered her as he stood up slowly, taking his gun from her hands.

The night was completely dark and they couldn't see much but it wasn't hard to know what was the stumbling figure that came out of the threes. Carl hesitated before handing Robbie the gun. "I can't fire, it would only attack more of them."

The creature had detected the sound and he speeded up his dragged pace towards them. Carl looked around, finally picking up a dried piece of wood that was heavy enough to cause damage. He took a step towards the walker, who had now extended his decrepit arms in search for food.

"Carl, no! Wait…" Robbie felt the panic climbing thought her body. She knew they had to get rid of the walker but a selfish bit of her didn't wanted to risk Carl's life. If something happened to her, she wouldn't be able to help much from her position.

"It has six bullets." Carl stated as he lifted the piece of wood. He was as scared as Robbie but he thought about his father and what would Rick do if he was on his position. If something happened and miraculously the group found Robbie alive, maybe she could tell Rick what had happened. He would be proud. "Keep the last one for you."

That was the last thing Carl said before charging into the walker.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOO-

Tears made it really hard for Becca to see where she was going. It didn't mattered anyway, since she had no idea where she was or where she was heading. After leaving Woodbury she had simply walked into the woods, with no real plan on her head. She just wanted to get as far away from the Governor as possible. She walked until it was too dark to see where she was going and then she sat on the floor and ate the whole backpack of supplies the Governor had given her. She knew it was stupid and that she should ration them to last longer but she was confident she would be dead pretty soon, so she stuffed ten protein bars on her mouth and three bottles of water were quickly disposed. The over charge of food came back through her esophagus and she puked it all on a mass of brown thick puddle into the nearest three. After that, she cried.

Rebecca couldn't remember when it was the last time she cried for real. Sure, she had spilled some tears when she won Miss North Carolina. And she cried when she saw the geeks eating the viscera out of her boyfriend back when this started. But that was purely out of fear, no real emotion behind her cry. This time was different. She was going to die for sure and even thought she didn't know when exactly, she was convinced it would be awful and painful.

She had no real options left. She couldn't go back to search the girl because she had no idea where she was. She couldn't go back to either Woodbury or the prison without her. With no real knowledge about tracking scavenging or anything actually useful, she knew she could only keep going for a while.

Rebecca had one last moment of peace and she came to terms with what she had done. Finally, she resolved her only real sin had been her own stupidity. Life had always been easy for her, everything had always been handed without even asking for it, guys simply threw themselves at her. She never had to try for anything. Maybe if she had, she might have learned something.

She whipped off her tears because there was no need for self-pity anymore. Rebecca decided it was all Daryl's fault. If he had only given in and fuck her, she would have never came into the woods searching for his attention. "But he had to be the only faithful man I come across into my whole fucking life….huh.." Becca let out a humorless laugh before standing up and putting on her backpack. When she started walking, she could hear the sound of feet dragging behind her.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOO-

"Fucking hell, Valery!" Daryl hissed after grabbing Valery's arm and helping her stand up. Rick was waiting impatiently a few meters ahead and Valery quickly stood up. "Watch where you're going, gurl."

"Sorry." Valery apologized, but Daryl didn't let go of her arm.

"I know you want to find them, but if you don't watch where you're going, we are going to have a bigger problem on our hands." Daryl stared into Valery's out to make sure she knew he meant what he said.

"I'm not a little kid, Daryl. I said I was sorry." Valery snatched her arm away an jogged until he reached Rick.

_"Fucking woman and their fucking hormones."_ Daryl thought, rolling his eyes and joining them.

The three of them walked in an awkward silence until Valery smiled and said, "Imagine we do all this just to find them making out or something like that."

Rick let out a snort and for the first time in days, he seemed to relax a little. "Then Carl will be spending the rest of his life on a cell. He's way too young to have a girlfriend and I have my hands full with you too and Maggie and Glenn."

"I agree. My goal is to delay that awkward talk for as long as I can. I was planning to babble something about _"don't have sex ever or you'll die"_ and then throw Robbie a bunch of pamphlets." Valery joked.

"You two worry about stuff like that too much." Daryl shook his head and Rick looked at him skeptically.

"We're parents, Daryl. It's our job to worry about stuff." Rick explained, but Valery seemed to be lost into her thoughts.

"That's why I'll never have kids." Daryl stated but it didn't go unnoticed for him the deadly glare Valery shot at him. Thinking it was because of Robbie, he quickly added. "It's fine when they are like, this…" he took his hand and signaled for an approximate height. "…before that they are just a pain in the ass."

"You're pretty good with Judith." Valery pointed out quietly and Daryl gave her a strange look.

"Yeah, well. That's because she ain't mine so I can't really screw up with her. But I bet if I had one of my own I would like…feed him just M&M and apple juice and put him on a leash or something." Daryl commented and Rick laughed softly.

But Valery didn't found it so amusing. She speeded up the pace and as she brushed Daryl's shoulder, she muttered something like, _"I bet you'll make a kick ass dad…"_ or something like that. Daryl looked at Rick but he seemed as confused as him.

"Damn girls." Daryl muttered.

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OOO-

Santiago's eyes were closing but he forced himself to stay awake. After all, they were just a few hours away from the prison. They would have managed to get there earlier if they hadn't made some stops (and yea, that was an euphemism for sex) and if they hadn't met an herd walking across the main road. But finally they seemed to be on track and Thiago was feeling pretty good.

After driving all night, Beth was curled up in the copilot seat getting a extremely necessary nap. Santiago had discovered the young blond was actually a pretty good driver. And Beth had to admit she had a an unhealthy fixation with Fast and Furious movies (actually she would watch anything featuring Vin Dissel) that had been only one of the few personal details they had exchanged though the night. Beth was surprisingly easy to talk to and nothing Thiago confessed, like his need to cause other people pain, seem to scare her. So he had decided he would do anything on his power to stay around her, even if that meant confronting Santa Claus back on the prison.

On his eager rush to get back, Thiago decided to push the pedal down to the bottom. It couldn't really hurt, since there were no other vehicles on the road. He now could see the distant shape of the building and he decided to wake up Beth. He turned around slightly to shake her shoulder. It took him only a fraction of second but it was enough to unchain disaster. When he looked back to the front there was a person there that hadn't been there just a minute ago.

_"Puuuuta madre!"_ Thiago hissed as he turned the wheel and made the vehicle spin around without control. The movement woke up Beth, who cried out in fear and clenched to the dashboard. As they spine, Thiago heard the thumping sound indicating the back of the vehicle had collided against the person standing in the road. Finally he was able to stop the truck. Breathing heavily, he turned to see Beth. "Are you okay?"

The young girl simply nodded and silently thanked God for seatbelts. "What happened?"

"I think we hit someone." Thiago explained, still feeling his heart pounding in his chest. "I'll go take a look, just wait here." Thiago jumped out of the truck and followed the bloody trail on the pavement. Then he spotted the body sprawled on the road. The first think he recognized was the thank top. It was the same thank top Becca wore the last time he saw her, back when she paraded around his cell wearing only that stupid thank top that gave such a nice view of her tits and a pair of boxers. She had offered Thiago some fun but he had refused because he had agreed to meet up with Beth that day. Becca didn't seemed to deal with the rejection too well as she stormed out of the room.

And now there she was with both of her arms missing and her skull completely crushed. The next thing Thiago did was empty the whole contents of his stomach right on the side of the road.

-OoO-

**A/N: I was just about to publish this when it hit me.**

**130 reviews?!**

** You guys rock! **

**Hehe don't worry, fluffy Daryl/Val stuff coming out sooon**


	40. Walkers have terrible timming

**Reunion time! And I can't wait for Valery to find out about Becca's actions but I'll save that for the next chapter! By the way I might start writing for a magazine, how exciting is that? Well it's still only a possibility but it still excites me terribly. So feel free to suggest things to improve this story as always **** I will explain whaat happened through the night with the kids, don't worry!**

**Maddy120296**: I felt kind of bad too. I spent a lot of time debating with myself trying to come up with a punishment fair to her crimes and that's all I could come up with.

**FanFicGirl10:** I started liking Carl last season but on the last episodes he was just sooo frustrating! I agree 100% and I hope writers change his attitude next season.

**Tigerlily xoxo:** I have a soft spot for Beth that I can't really explain. I don't know about thiago, I mean it's too much fun to write him being evil but maybe I can only half redeem him? IDK

**Guest:** Thanks for reading this! I'm glad you like it

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Valery felt like she was inside one of CSI's episodes as she and Rick observed Daryl putting together the small details no one else saw.

"They must have walked up to here…"Daryl traced a straight line with his hand and then pointed at the place where they were standing. "…and then they parted ways."

"So where are them?" Valery pushed, feeling a little bit frustrated by the lack of advance they had made on the day. Daryl frowned.

"Well, that's what's funny. The trail goes cold and I have no idea why." Daryl seemed almost excited by the chase and Valery felt the need to go and slap his empty ass head. She knew he meant no harm and that hunting and trailing was just a part of who he was. Still, she was impatient to find any information that may lead them to the kids.

"Hey, I think someone was standing here." Rick pointed out. He had walked towards the bushes and he was kneeling to take a closer look at the ground. "Some of the leaves are smashed and there's a set of footprints."

Daryl approached a little upset for not noticing before. Rick was right, there had been someone standing there. Rick looked up to the hunter with a triumphant smile and Daryl had to repress himself from patting his head like a dog. Yeah, the cop had earned a bright golden star on his forehead.

But their observations were interrupted when Valery screamed. Both men turned around to see the young woman staring at something lying at the bottom of the cliff. "They are down there!" Valery called them and immediately they responded by joining her at the edge. It was true, there was someone laying there but they couldn't see much of his or her body because only the legs were sticking out from below a massive log. "_Dios mío, hay sangre!"_ Valery cried out as she clenched to Daryl's shoulder with one hand and with the other she pointed at a small puddle of blood near to the fallen body.

"That's it, I'm going down." Rick declared as he started climbing down the cliff.

"Wait! We don't know if it safe." Daryl warned, running a hand through his hair as he analyzed the possible solutions. Finding none, he simply added, "You could slide and crack your head open like that poor bastard."

"Well, that would save us a bullet." Rick calmly retorted. His comment made Valery giggle nervously. She was on the very edge of a mental crisis. She would find a dancing marshmallow just as hilarious as having Rick dying. It was a weird day.

"Fuck." Daryl muttered under his breath as they saw Rick climbing down. It was a tricky task since the angle of the slope was acute and there were nothing to hold on besides loose dirt and some thin roots. Valery held her breath every time Rick loosed his grip and slide a few inches but he always managed to recover at the last moment. Slowly, he made his way up to the base.

"I'm okay!" he announced to his partner, who exhaled in relief.

"What do you see?" Valery asked eager to obtain any information. Her nails were digging into Daryl's skin leaving red marks and the hunter clenched his teeth trying to ignore the pain.

Rick analyzed the situation. The person they had seen from the edge was dead and by the smell of it, he had been dead for a while. His body was sprawled clumsily against the tree with his limbs extended and head croaked to a side. His skull had been smashed and it now held an abnormal shape. Rick took out his gun, just as a precaution. "It's not them!" he shouted back to Daryl and Valery.

Just when he said that, the corpse slide to his side. Rick's old habits kicked in and he pointed his gun at the walker, ready to shoot. Much to his surprise, his gun was faced by two pale and surprised faces. Rick lowered his gun "Carl! Are you okay?" he asked, extending a hand to his son.

Carl took a second to process the fact that they had been rescued before taking the hand of his father and accepting his help to stand up. Rick was relieved when Carl shook the leaves and dirt that had sticked to his clothes through the night which was apparently the only harm done. The father hugged his son with a brief but strong embrace before focusing on the second familiar face hidden on the space between the fallen log and the rock wall.

"Hey sweetheart, are you okay?" Rick asked as he kneeled next to Robbie.

"I think so." Robbie said as she nodded but just seconds later, she coughed.

"She caught a cold during the night." Carl explained. "The walker came during the night and Robbie took him out. We used his body to cover up our smell." Rick felt a wave of pride on his chest.

"Rick_! Maldita sea_, what's going on?! Are they there? Robbie! Who are you talking with?" Valery shouted frenetically.

"Valery, shut the fuck up! Rick, talk to us man!" Daryl hissed as well.

Rick gave a quick smirk to the kids before responding, "They are here and they are both okay!"

"Tell Roberta I'm going to kill her when she gets up here!" Valery threathened but there was happiness behind her words.

"I don't think I can go up!" Robbie cried out with a rough voice, "My leg is trapped."

Rick realized the girl was right, her leg was stuck under the weight of the fallen three. Naturally, the cop tried to lift the heavy log but he failed. Whipping the sweat off his face he finally admitted his defeat, "Daryl, I could use an extra set of arms down here!"

Daryl looked at Valery who nodded imperceptibly. The couple had been distant lately but Valery surprised Daryl by pulling him into a quick hug and whispering, "Be careful." on his ear. Daryl felt warm inside after the brief contact. So yeah, maybe they weren't the most affectionate people in the world but they cared for each other on their own weird way. Daryl slide down the cliff with much more grace than Rick or Carl. After all, it wasn't the first time he rolled down a slope. He reached the button quickly and looked at Robbie.

"Hey doll." Daryl wouldn't admit it but he really liked Robbie. "How are you holding on?"

"I'm fine." Robbie responded bravely though it was clear she felt uncomfortable. "I could use a sandwich."

Daryl smirked, "I'll tell your mom to do one for you and another for me when we're back. Now, can you move your body?"

Robbie shook her head. "His right foot is completely stuck but not crushed. Oh, and there's a huge rock ready to fall on her head if we take out the log." Carl summed up the situation.

Daryl noticed everyone was waiting for him to come up with a plan. Trying to sound confident he announced, "Okay people, this is what we're going to do…"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

As always it was Daryl the one who kept calm and collected as everyone else around lose their shit. Things had been going relatively well (there was still a child trapped on a natural deadly trap and her mother was suffering a possible cardiac arrest but ignoring that, things were cool) until the walkers showed up. It was really just a matter of time but they were still an inconvenience. Daryl wished he could have split in two and send one of his selves up to help Valery. But that was impossible so he would have to trust in her ability to protect herself.

"How are you doing up there, Val?" Daryl asked with slight concern.

"Just marvelous!" Valery sarcastically retorted after sticking her knife in the forehead of her nearest target.

"Sweet, we'll be up in a sec. Everyone ready?" Daryl asked just to be responded by positive nods. "On my count…!"

Daryl and Rick placed his hands under the tree and tried to build pressure with their knees, preparing themselves to lift the weight. Meanwhile, Carl and Robbie hugged, ready for a quick extraction. "One…Two…"

"….Three!" Daryl shouted, lifting the log with Rick's help. They only managed to move the thing a few inches but it was enough for Carl to pull Robbie out. With a loud smashing noise, the enormous rock came crushing down the log. As everyone recovered from the adrenaline rush, they heard Valery yelling…

"Is my daughter okay?" she asked making a pause before taking on the next walker.

Daryl glanced at Robbie who was pale and was clenching to Carl's body. "Yeah, she's fine."

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOWN THERE?!" Valery roared. " GET YOUR ASSES UP HERE AND HELP ME!"


	41. Would you rather?

**Hi guys. So, I had written some smut on this chapter but I ended up throwing it out because I missed the fluff of a normal conversation between my lovebirds. I hope you like it and I will keep putting some pregnancy stuff now and then but let's just remember THERE ARE MANY POSSIBILITIES. I won't say more not to spoil the surprise. Anyway, there you go.**

Only two reviews on last chapter though :/

**Guest:** thank you, I'm happy you like it!

**FanFicGirl10**: Well you can see Val is a bit disappointed about that as well. But hopefully you like this J

-ooO-ooO-ooO-

Valery bet there were probably no fat persons left alive on the world. The new rules were simple; keep moving, keep breathing. It was a little bit trickier when out into practice. For example, while running through the woods with a herd of undead corpses chasing you.

"Stop pulling me!" Robbie cried out after Carl grabbed her arm to give her a little push. The adults slowed down to look at the kids. Robbie really looked like shit with leaves glued to her skin by dried mud and dark circles under her eyes. She was the slower one and they kept pushing her to hurry. "I'm really fucking small and I'm trying my fucking best!" The little girl pouted. Any other mother would be scandalized by the rude language but Valery decided that under the circumstances, she could let it slip.

But there was no time for discussions as the sound of moans and dragging feet got closer. Quickly, Daryl swept Robbie in his arms and the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck. Then the hunter glanced at Rick. "Where to?"

"There's no way we make it for another mile…" Rick continued talking as the group moved and Valery had to force her aching legs to keep walking. "We could try the road but we have to make a run for it…"

"Val?" Daryl questioned Valery but she was so exhausted she only offered a weak nod. Honestly, her lungs were about to explode. Daryl wasn't stupid, he knew something was troubling Valery but he decided they would have to deal with that later. "What a pussy! Is that all you got, gurl?"

Valery smirked at the comment and speed up the pace until she caught up with Carl and Rick on the floor, leaving Daryl behind. "Oh, but you're not carrying a kid! That's cheating!" Valery simply turned her head around and stick out her tongue. "Really mature…"

-OoO-ooO-ooO-

Valery was the first to reach the road. She had heard the low roaring of an engine and decided to go for it, ignoring Rick and Daryl's warnings. They thought it was a Governor patrol but Valery decided it was worth the shot. Valery was convinced that Daryl and Rick had enlarged the threat of the Governor turning him into such an invincible adversary on their minds they lost the big plan. Valery wasn't scared of the Governor. She had been closer to him than any of the men had been. He had seen the true face of the Boogeyman and she had concluded the Governor was only a man. He was a repulsive, perverted and cruel man but he was nothing but flesh and bone. So she had a hunch and ran to meet the vehicle that was approaching, convinced that the Governor didn't have as much resources to keep a permanent patrol.

The vehicle came in sight quickly and Valery could distinguish the shape of a van. She stretched out her hands and waved, trying to catch the attention of the driver. _"_Hey! Hey!_ Párate! _Stop!" her screaming seemed to work because the van stopped. The rest of the group had caught up with Valery and Daryl jogged up to her. Before he could start lecturing a man came out of the van and started screaming.

"_Tu estas loca o que mamita?!"_ Valery felt a wave of relief when she saw her brother coming out of the van. Then she felt a little scared when she saw the anger on his face. "You people are crazy walking to cars like you don't give a fuck! I could have run you over, _mensa!_"

Daryl placed Robbie on the floor and then moved between the siblings.

"Back up." Daryl muttered with that low growling voice that gave Valery chills.

Santiago snorted, "Or what, white trash?"

"I'd do what he said if I was you." Rick backed up his words with the barrel of his gun and Santiago was forced to take distance from Daryl. "What did you did to Beth?"

"Eh…you need to be more specific." Santiago simply responded and when his eyes crossed with her sister's, he looked away.

"Seriously?! The farmer's daughter?!" Valery had put together the clues and she realized what had taken so long for Beth and Thiago to return to the prison.

"Where is she?" Rick rephrased, eyeing the Latino cautiously. Then everyone was startled by the sound of the honk of the car. Beth's blonde head appeared through the window.

"Hi! I'm fine and all that, now could you all get inside before you get eaten…please?" Beth asked after noticing the first walkers trespassing the line of bushes. The group agreed and everyone squeezed inside the vehicle just before the first stumbling bodies made its way to the road. It was a large vehicle with three roads of seats. Everyone fitted perfectly but there was a bit of a debate since Thiago refused terminally to take the wheel again.

"No man, my nerves are all fucked up. People keep walking to my car…" he sounded incoherent to Rick so the ex cop volunteered to drive. However, insisting to keep Santiago under vigilance, he forced the tattooed man to take the copilot seat. Beth took the middle seat but she was quickly used as pillow by Robbie who was glad to find a softer surface to take a nap. Meanwhile Valery and Daryl sat on the last row of seats.

Finally Rick broke the awkward silence. "Well, there's a lot of people who have to do a lot of explaining so…who's first?"

"I have no idea why Robbie went out with Becca on the first place but I decided to follow them because Robbie seems to find a way to get stuck into incredibly dangerous situations all the time…" Carl begun talking and Rick noticed the glance Thiago and Beth exchanged when they heard Becca's name. "They were right by the cliff when Robbie slipped. Rebecca panicked I guess, so she threw down the rock to crash…"

"SHE DID WHAT?!" Both Valery and Santiago snapped, leaning into their seats to face Carl.

Carl shrunk a little bit on his seat. "I tried to stop her but she fled so I went down to get Robbie. We spend the night under the three and a walker attacked us. We couldn't fire the gun and the walker had already got me so Robbie had to smash the walker's head using the gun."

_"Voy a matar a esa maldita desgraciada, quien chingados se cree para…"_Valery had started ranting in Spanish and Daryl had to pull her back to force her to seat properly. He had never seen Valery so furious before. Her hands were curled into fist and she had her eyes closed as she breathed slowly on an attempt to calm down.

"I think she wanted Daryl…" Robbie trailed up sleepily as she changed positions on Beth's arms. "But Daryl is my daddy so she has to get her own Daryl…"

"Damn right she has…" Valery hissed. Daryl repressed a chuckle. Even when the world as messed up as it was, Valery was still not willing to give up her ground.

"Well, I'm so glad we know that now because I kind of killed Rebecca." Santiago casually stated and the whole car felt into silence.

"I told you, we didn't kill her…" Beth complained and Rick's eyes widened.

"**_We_** didn't kill her? Beth, would you please elaborate…?"

"She was already half eaten when Thiago hit her with the van. We just…freed her soul or something like that." Beth explained, a little embarrassed by Rick's look. Of course she was just as tough as Maggie, they just didn't gave her any chance to prove it.

"Are you sure she was dead?" Valery asked.

Beth gave her a frustrated eye roll, "Well, she was missing both of her arms and like three quarters of her face, so yeah." Beth turned around slightly. "I'm pretty sure she was dead."

Valery sighed and sat back. The truth to be told (no matter how much of a terrible person she felt like for thinking so) she was disappointed because she wouldn't get the chance to personally snap Becca's neck. Not only had that bitch tried to steal her man, she had tried to kill her daughter. Valery was more than frustrated for her impossibility to have revenge but well; maybe fate had been crueler than whatever she could do. Valery would probably have been a lot faster than the walkers. So at least Becca had a slow painful dead. Valery liked that. It was horrible, but she did.

Daryl noticed the disappointment on her face and he knew exactly why she felt that way. Another person would probably felt disturbed by the thirst of revenge Valery's eyes held inside but not Daryl. He liked the fact that she had such an unbreakable loyalty towards her family. She was like a guardian dog when it came to her daughter…or him. On the last days, Valery had been more protective and possessive towards him, and he didn't dislike it. It was nice to feel wanted. Yet again he found himself thinking Valery was the perfect girl for him.

Without thinking, he pulled Valery into his lap and kissed her roughly. She was surprised when his lips crashed but she recovered and opened her mouth to grant him access. His hands tugged her hair and she let out a small gasp of surprise. She tasted so good, so warm and wet Daryl feel the need to investigate what other parts of her body were as welcoming as her mouth. His hands started traveling down her body when…

"Hey! Keep it PG-13 back there!" Rick interrupted the moment and much to Valery's irritation, Daryl pulled back with a smug smirk.

"What was that for?" Valery asked still a little flustered.

"For being such a badass." Daryl responded with a smirk. Valery smiled micheviously. _Game on, mr. _she thought.

"That doesn't really explains why were the two of you doing out of the prison for starters." Rick pointed out and Santiago glanced at Beth.

"We needed parts to fix up the truck. I had no clue the town would be overrun. " Santiago defended himself. Rick waited for Beth to add anything else but the girl was dead silent.

"Fine, but I'll let you explain that to Hershel."

Santiago smirked triumphantly and Beth blushed. Oh, she was going to be so grounded.

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

By night time they hadn't reach the prison yet. Rick had handed the wheel to Daryl and Thiago exchanged seats with his sister. Valery and Daryl were the only ones awake though they were having trouble to stay that way. "Fuuck.." Daryl yawned, blinking a couple times to stay alert.

"How long till we get there?" Valery asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"An hour. More or less." Daryl rolled his eyes, "Unless I fell asleep and kill everyone on board."

Valery chuckled. "Okay let's do this. Would you rather…" she thought for a second. "…have a nose growing on your cheek or have tongue on your belly?"

"What the actual fuck?" Daryl smirked, obviously amused.

"Just answer the question." Valery insisted, slightly cheered up by the game.

"A toungue." Daryl simply said and Valery growled.

"You're no fun Daryl. You have to explain why you picked that option." Valery complained and on the back seat, Robbie mumbled something on her sleep.

"Fine, keep your voice down." Daryl frowned for a second and then explained, "Well at least you could hide the thing under a shirt and I..I don't know…turn the lights off when you're in bed with someone." Daryl's eyes continued to be fixed on the front as he added, "Besides I can think of a few uses for that tongue."

Valery stifled a chuckle. "My turn…" Daryl started. "Would you rather do a threesome with me and Rick or with me and…one of the Green girls?"

Valery gave it a few minutes and then asked, "Which of the Green's?"

"I don't know…you pick her, I guess." Daryl was far more interested in the answer than what he was willing to reveal.

"I'd take Maggie and you." Valery finally declared and Daryl glared at her.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You do realize most girls would have picked the men, right?" There was a pause and then he asked, "Is there something I need to worry about?"

Valery punched his arm. "No silly. But it kind of turns me on to see you all flustered and pleased."

Daryl snorted, "In that case, I pick Rick and me."

"Oh, how sweet." Valery mocked. She was enjoying herself for once. It was nice to fool around with Daryl without necessarily jumping into the sack after talking. She missed this, the teasing and joking. Lately fucking seemed almost too easy. "Though I did date a girl on high school…" Daryl gasped dramatically and Valery waved him off, "Anyway… would you rather die burned or drowned."

To her defense, it was a naïve question. She had no idea it would turn into such a buzz killer.

"Drowned." Daryl replied immediately. He swallowed and before Valery could dig any further, he added, "My momma died on a fire." Valery's body tensed up immediately. "She felt asleep while having a smoke and the whole house caught fire. She was pretty drunk too."

"Shit. Sorry." Valery awkwardly replied. She didn't know what else to say. Parents were really an off limits on their relationship and she could feel the thin ice under her foot. Daryl didn't seem offended but it was clear he was waiting to get some reaction from Valery. Nice moms of nice kids that had nice lives didn't end up burned to death. But Valery's family hadn't been a role model so she wasn't as judgmental as Daryl feared. Affectionaly, she placed a hand on the nape of his head and tugged his hair. "As I said, you're not fun."

Daryl gave her a sideway smile and Valery smiled too. Crisis avoided. "Would you rather…eat ketchup for the rest of your life or eat rotten fish for a week?"

"I'm allergic to ketchup." Valery confessed. "Like, I die and that if I taste a bit."

"Seriously? You were a sad little girl, huh?" Daryl mocked.

"Shut up! It's not funny when you start chocking on Mac Donald's and Kenny Malone tells everyone you are a freak and you never get invited to any more birthday parties." Valery chuckled as she recalled Santiago freaking out and driving her to the ER. That's how he got his first speeding ticket. Suddenly, Valery discovered there was an important question she needed to ask.

"Would you rather have a baby boy or a baby girl?" she tried to keep her voice casual but she was all ears to the reply.

"A boy." Daryl plainly said. Valery smiled and he took it like an invitation to elaborate, "Don't get me wrong, your kid back there is fantastic. But on a few years she will start bleeding from places one is not supposed to bleed and she will start dating Carl..."

"Carl?" Valery interrupted.

"Shut up, Rick and I have this all planned out. What was I saying? Oh well, Robbie will grow up and realize I'm just a stinky old man and then you two will team up and win every discussion with the power of your vaginas." By the time Daryl was over talking, Valery was laughing so hard she had to place her hand over her mouth to suffocate the noises.

"Besides, there's things I can only teach to a boy like…spit or talk to girls or drink beer." Daryl added, grinning with amusement as Valery whipped the tears off her eyes. "Or peeing while standing up."

"Gross! It's a kid, not a dog." Valery complained as she chuckled.

"See, you don't get it!" Daryl lamented as he shook his head. Finally he asked. "What about you?"

"A boy." Valery agreed with a bright smile. And then, she placed a hand over her belly. Daryl frowned at the gesture but said nothing. He figured it was the mother instinct women had. "I was never that good of a girl myself." Valery justified herself and Daryl chuckled.

"I don't know about that, hun." Daryl placed one hand on her knee and squeezed it. "I thing you have done a fine job so far."


	42. Busted

**Hey guys, it's me. I'm sorry for not posting last week but I'm in colleague now (yei!) so things had been crazy lately. Anyway, have you heard the lasted buzz on the new season? Words out that there're going to be a bunch of new characters. Would you like to see Valery there?**

**As always, I thank you for the support:**

**FanFicGirl10:** I just felt like the story needed some fluffy stuff. I'm glad it came out nicely J **Thanks for following to:** izzyswan41, Lila Meer, shirey777 , SelfDiagnosed **LOTS OF NEW READERS! HI! *waves shyly at them*** -OoO-OoO-

"Are we sure we can't wait for them?" Valery asked once again as Rick patted her back paternally. Valery still remembered the first days on camp when she tried unsuccessfully to flirt with the ex-cop. Somewhere along the road, their relationship had changed into something more familiar and protective. Rick was just one of those guys who liked to look after everyone, Valery thought;and she was just the kind of people that needed to be taken care of.

"They won't come back until tomorrow, Val." Rick explained and after noticing Valery's face dropping he playfully pushed her and added, "What's wrong with you? It was your idea to send them away."

"Yeah but that was only because I'm never going to let Robbie alone ever again for as long as I breath. I'm going to go all s-mother on her." Valery joked back, finally giving up and dragging her feet through the yard.

"I'm sure Daryl can handle her for one night but if you like, I can take Glenn with us." Rick suggested but Valery sighed.

"Nah, it´s fine. Glenn is always doing run outs for the group. He can sit this one out." Valery glanced over the gate, where Michonne was already getting ready to slice some rotten heads. The urban ninja seemed almost excited by the trip and Valery concluded she just didn't understood Michonne…at all. Once Valery had appreciated the adrenaline rush that fighting walkers gave her but now she had other priorities. Almost instinctively her hand brushed her belly as she walked next to Rick. Could it be? Well maybe she could get a test today and finally know for sure.

She had been postponing the issue, to embarrassed to ask Glenn to bring back a pregnancy test on his next run-out . But the possibility had changed the way she behaved subtly. For example, she had started eating healthier. Well, at least she had stopped devouring every chip bag she came across (she kept hiding them under her bunk since Daryl often brought a bag from his hunting trips, thinking he was giving her a treat. Valery kissed him thank you and eat a few of them before distracting Daryl _the only way she knew_.). She had also reduced her physical activity using Robbie as an excuse. Rick hadn't objected, thinking it was better to have someone to keep a close eye on the kids. Still, Valery had decided not to take any action until she had confirmed the news.

"Are you gonna talk the walkers to death, girl?" Michonne commented sarcastically and Valery snorted. "Get your asses moving."

"You're such a lady, Mitch." Val retorted, causing Rick to chuckle as they jogged to the jeep.

"Call me again and I'll cut you." Michonne muttered as she jumped into the vehicle.

-OoO-OoO-oOo-OoO-

"Daryl?" Robbie whispered, causing the hunter to frown. He ignored the little girl, trying to stay focused on his objective. The squirrel had raised its head, listening for any sounds and Daryl placed his hand on the trigger.

"Daaaaaryyyyyl?" Robbie tried again, placing her small hands on the man's shoulder to try to give a look. This time, the squirrel heard her loud and clear. On a second, it sprinted to the bushes and the bolt Daryl shot landed on a patch of dried leaves where the creature had been sitting just seconds ago. With a growl of frustration, the hunter turned around to face the little girl.

"Roberta, what art of keeping your mouth shut don't you understand?" Daryl tried to keep his temper as calm as possible, but he could feel a migraine starting to kick in.

Robbie looked down, kicking the dirt with her feet. She hated to let down Daryl. He was just the cololest guy out there and she wanted him to think she was cool, too. "I've been quiet the whole day…" Robbie pointed out with a voice that was just above a whisper.

Daryl noticed the Robbie's embarrassment and forced himself to relax. He had to admit Robbie had followed every instruction since they left the prison. At the beginning, Daryl though the girl would be a pain in the ass and refused flatly to let her tag along. Rick insisted, saying that he needed Val to make a run out. Finally, Daryl had accepted Robbie as a necessary evil but the girl had proved to be quiet as a shadow, to the point where Daryl even forgot her presence.

"Okay, what do you want?" Daryl gave up and Robbie looked up hopefully.

"Haven't you noticed Vale is acting funny?" Robbie asked, clearly hoping for support.

Daryl chewed his thumb like he did whenever he was in deep though. He was replaying the last few weeks on his mind trying to see if there was anything that stood out. It should have been an easy task, since he was a natural observer. He had suspected something was wrong the first time he saw Valery sitting at the edge of the bed with a worried look. Sometimes he had caught her staring at the horizon without noticing people were talking to her. Of course he had tried to be the sweet concerned boyfriend and reputedly asked her what was wrong. Looking back, Daryl discovered that what he usually though were simply natural reactions to his unusual sweet behavior (she practically ripped his clothes apart when he brough her a bag of salted chips) could be a clever distraction strategy.

"She never ate the chips…"Daryl concluded, making Robbie frown. Daryl's eyes widened and he straightened his body.

"What?" the little girl asked, scared by Daryl's apparent epiphany.

"Nothin'" he waved her off. "So, why are you asking anyway?" Daryl smirked. "I thought you mom-daughters told everything to each other. Kind of like the bro code."

"Oh, there's so much you don't know about women, Daryl." Robbie shook her head, making Daryl snort with amusement. "Well, I mean…I haven't really seen anything. It's more like a vibe…like when I found a baby chicken and hide it on my closet."

"Hey, I did that once too!" Daryl stated with a smirk. "But mine was a puppy and Merle almost beat it and me to dead when he discovered it had pooped on his best shoes." Daryl smiled with sincere joy at the memory and added, "He kicked the puppy out and I swear my right ass check hasn't been the same since that beating."

"Yiuck!" Robbie exclaimed crinkling her nose. "Did you named the puppy?"

"No. I only had him for half a day or something like that. I called it puppy" Daryl scratched the back of his nape. "Did you named your chicken?"

"Yeah, his name was Pablo." Robbie replied cheerfully before grimacing. "It turns out chickens need to, like eat and that stuff."

"Oh, I see." Daryl said without any real emotion. Finally he remembered the purpose of the conversation. "So, you think Valery is sneaking something out?"

"Yeah, something bigger than a puppy." Robbie concluded.

-OoO-oO-oOo-

"Shit!" Valery muttered when her feet hit the corner of a shelving, knocking down a couple cans.

"Shhh!" Michonne commanded with a frustrated growl. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"I'm sorry!" Valery apologized, kicking gently a soda can out of her way.

"Stop talking." Michonne responded with an eye roll as she took the lead. Valery was okay with that. There was something extremely creepy about the decayed empty store. Most of the shelves had been knocked down during the panic attack that took over the town the first days of the epidemic. Valery could imagine people coming through the crystal doors like an unstoppable wave at the beginning and then on smaller groups as more people were hit by the fiber. There were traces of blood on some of the aisles as well as gunshot marks on the walls. Finally, Valery guessed they were the last wave of scavengers, scratching under the surface to find anything useful. During the first days of the attack, canned food and water bottles had been whipped off. Luckily survivors had left the clothing section and most of the babies supplies intact, thinking that the government would solve the situation in a few months. Rick had stayed back filling a few bags with baby clothes and formula. Valery couldn't help to feel sorry as she watched Rick picking up several attires that were obviously not going to fit Judith. Valery guessed Lori would have been able to pick the right ones. Suddenly she found herself wondering just how much Judith would need a mom growing up, despite having a kick ass dad.

The thought made her sad, so she volunteered to go with Michonne in search of any objects scavengers had passed by. So far they had collected a semi smashed package of cookies and a pack of apple juice. Valery spotted the sign that read "Drugstore" and tapped Michonne's shoulder.

"Let's check that out." Valery mouthed and Michonne simply nodded. Both girls walked behind the counter and started reading labels. Valery slowly made her way to the feminine products shelves, pretending to snatch a pack of pads. Her eyes quickly found what she was looking, weight on the tallest shelve. She tiptoed trying to grab the pregnancy test and she was too busy doing that to notice the sound of footsteps on the shattered glass sprayed on the floor. She didn't noticed until a hand grasped her shoulder. Valery turned around quickly, only to find and open mouth ready to take a bite of her face. She tried to step back but her body collided with the shelve, bringing down the items still remaining. As pads, tampons and razors came flying down, Valery placed her hands on the chest of the walker, trying to keep it a safe distance.

She was about to call for help when the blade of a katana slide right through the walkers face, stopping only inches away from her own features. The walkers eyes froze on a surprised expression before it's live less body felt down with a dry noise. Whipping the sweat of her face, Valery glanced at Michonne who raised an eyebrow as she put the katana back on its cover. Instinctively, Valery's eyes flickered to the package on the floor and Michonne noticed. Before Valery could stop her, Michonne grabbed the test and read the instructions. Valery watched as the older woman's eyes widened. When Michonne stared at her, Valery was forced to look away.

"What. ?" Michonne asked, waving the package in front of Val's face.

_"Buuuuuussstteeeeedddd_…!" A voice inside Valery's mind screamed.

-OoO-oO-


End file.
